The Sun.
London, England, 1842-06-30 00:00:00

POLICE INTELLIGENCE.

MARLBOROUGH-STREET.
Yesterday Caroline Guest, a perfect virago, who passed
at least eleven months out of the twelve in prison, was
charged with breaking. two large panes of plate glass, at
the Army and Navy Club-house, St James's. square.
George Williams, one of the night porters, stated that
about twenty minutes to two o'clock yesterday morning
the prisoner deliberately walked up the steps of the hall
entrance, and, with her fist, broke, one after the other,
the large panes of glass in the swing folding doors, and in
doing so cut her arm in a most dreadful manner.
She was directly given in charge to the police, but
behaved with such violence, that she was obliged to be
conveyed to the station-house on the police stretcher.
The damage done amounts to upwards of six guineas.
Mr. MALTBY asked if the prisoner was known at the
Club-house ?—Witness—Yes, Sir. She broke the same
windows there two years ago, and was on that occasion
committed to prison for a montli.
Inspector Plumey, of the C division, stated that the
prisoner's clothes were completely saturated through
with blood, and so severely had she Wounded hersel
that there was no doubt but that she would have
bled to death had not the assistance of a surgeon been
procured.
MU. MALTBY (to the prisoner)—What have you to say
in answer to this charge ? Prisoner—Well, to be candid
with you, fis I know I shall go to prison for what I have
done, I'll tell you all about it. Two years ago, a noble-
man fell down on his face on the pavement, as he was
coming from the club ; I picked him up, and also
his hat and silk pocket-handkerchief; which I
gave him, although I might have run away with both
of them ; and I also, with my apron, wiped the mud from
his waistcoat, and for this kindness I says to him, " You
may give us such a thing as half-a-crown," upon which
ho took and kicked me, and urged on one of the waiters
to ill-use me, and I therefore, as any woman of spirit
would have done, broke the windows as a matter of course.
From that time I have entertained a spite against the
Club-house; and, as I was passing there only this morn-
ing, it occurred to me all at once that, in the ordinary
course of events, I should not be out of prison above a
day or two at furthest, and so I thought I might as well
go at once, and for something worth while.
Mr. MALTBY said she was really incorrigible, and
committed her to Westminster Bridewell for two months,
with hard labour.

IMPERIAL PARLIAMENT.

HOUSE OF COMMONS, June 29.

ELECTION PROCEEDINGS COMMITTEE.
(Continued from our Third Edition of last night.)
Mr. F. SHAW considered that they were in substance
discussing whether the House would sanction the Com-
mittee in keeping their proceedings secret. So long as
the Committee had chosen to exercise their own discre-
tion on the subject, he (Mr. F. Shaw) did not feel himself
called upon to interfere ; but if he were called upon to
give the sanction of the House to their proceedings, and
if silence were supposed to give consent, he must say that
he for one protested against anything like secret in-
quiries.—(Cheers.) It was contrary to all our notions
of English jurisprudence. Every British subject, who was
accused of any crime, had a right to be confronted with
his accuser—to be brought face to face with him—to
know who brought the accusation, how he brought it, and
to subject his accuser to cross- examination. —(Loud
cheers.) Publicity was the best guardian of justice ;
publicity might sometimes be attended with inconveni-
ence, but it was necessary for the efficient administra-
tion of justice that it should be open and public.
Mr. S. CRAWFORD rose, amidSt loud cries of
"Divide." He was understood to say that he should
not sanction the proposition of the Hon. Member for
Bath.

The gallery was then ordered to be cleared, but
Mr. M. MILNES rose, amidst much confusion and
cries of " Divide " He explained his reasons for voting
against the amendment of the Gallant Colonel. lie had
opposed the appointment of the Committe at first, as
injurious', but nevertheless he should now vote for the
motion.

Strangers were again ordered to withdraw, but no
division took place, and on our return we found
Mr. STAFFORD O'BRIEN trusting that the Hon.
Gentleman would demand admittance to the Committee
as a Member, and thus, according to the pledge he had
given, bring the question fairly •before the House.-
Mr. ROEBUCK said, after the opinion given by the
Noble Lord, and the expressed opinion of the Right
Hon. Baronet, and after the general feeling of the House,
expressed as it was, he was perfectly willing not to press
the question.—(Cheers.) The good taste and feeling of
Members would teach Ahem that they would best dis-
charge their duty to the House in the present state of
the question.—(The latter part of the sentence was lost
in the cheering which followed.) •
Mr. ESTCOURT rose amidst loud • cries of " Di-
vide, divide." • He wished to know if the Hon. and
Learned Member could point out to him any tribunal
in which English justice was administered, where the
party accused was refused admission when the witnesses
were being examined against him. Was he to be
told that the Hon. Gentleman, the late Member
for Nottingham, Sir G. De Larpent, who was a candi-
date for Nottingham, the Hon. Member for Bridport,
and the late Hon. Member for Bridport, and many others
whom he would not run through—(Roars of laughter)—
he would ask if the Hon. Member considered it justice
to them? It was stated that this Committee would
prove to the House that there had been something wrong
—something corrupt. Was not that an accusa-
tion ? He would not refer to the debate in
which the Honourable and Learned Member had
spoken on this subject. He would refer to the
Order of the House appointing that Committee. On
that occasion it was stated that corrupt compromises had
been entered into. Was not that an accusation? And
how could the inquiry be conducted, unless the party
accused were allowed to hear the charge ? As the
Hon. and Learned Gentleman knew, at the beginning
of the proceedings he (Mr. Estcourt) was ready to vote
for the Committee. His objection was not to the Com-
mittee, but to the manner in which the proceedings were
commenced when the Committee began to sit, contrary
to the principle of law and justice. For these reasons
he should vote against further inquiry.
After a few words from Mr. O'BRIEN the House
divided, when there appeared—
For the original motion....

For the amendment
Majority- for the motion

45
-132

On our admission into the gallery we found
Mr. ROEBUCK moving that Mr. Cochrane should
attend the Committee and give evidence on Monday next.
Mr. COCHRANE was sorry to be again called upon
to address the House, and when he begged to apologise for
trespassing on its time, he must be permitted to say ant
the fault did not rest with him, because, had not the
House and the Right Hon. Baronet acceeded to the mo-
tion of the Hon. Member for Bath, the Committee would
never have been appointed. Charges had been made
against him (Mr. C.), and those charges had been rebut-
ted by him by a full and fair statement in a public news-
paper, and those statements he would now again repeat.
He had requested that the Committee should be ap-
pointed, and at the time he did so, he did not expect that
he should be called before it—( a laugh)—his reason for
requesting that the Committee might be appointed was,
that Mr. Warburrton might have a full opportunity of
making clear any charge that might be thought to
have been brought against him. He had no wish to be
examined before the Committee, or turn informer against
the borough of Bridport. The particular reason why
he did not accede to the request to attend the Commit-
tee was one which he was certain the House would pay
attention to, and think reasonable, as it was one personal
to himself. There had been indictments pend-
ing against him in the county of Dorset ever since
he had been returned for the borough, and those
indictments had not yet been disposed of. Now, he
would ask any Honourable Member, whether it would
be fair to compel him to appear before the Committee,
and to make statements which might inculpate himself
under the circumstances in which he was placed ? Any
Member of the Committee would have it in his power to
prove, in Dorsetshire, the statements which he (Mr. B.
Cochrane) might make, and they would would thus mili-
tate against himself. He did not wish to cast any re-
flection on the Committee generally, but he should say
that the Hon. and Learned Member for Bath had not,
as he thought, acted impartially towards him. What
was the object of the Committee ? It was, as
far as regarded him, that certain statements of Mr.
Warbuton's should be inquired into ; but the Ho-
nourable and Learned Member for Bath seemed
determined on keeping Mr. Warburton's examination to
the last, so that he (Mr. B. Cochrane) would have no
opportunity of refuting charges which Mr. Warburton
might bring against him.—(Hear. hear.) He and his
Hon. Colleague (Mr. Mitchell) had been ordered to at-
tend that day, while Mr. Warburton would not be
called upon to give his evidence till some future period.
He would ask the Hon. and Learned Member for Bath
if that were not the case ?—[Mr. Roebuck was under-
stood to say that it was.] Now he (Mr. B. Coch-
rane) did not think that that was a fair
mode of proceeding.—(Hear.) But the parti-
cular ground upon which he objected to appear
before fhe Committee was, that there were indictments
against him, and under those circumstances he did not
wish to give any evidence which might convict himself.
There were also certain public grounds, although he
should not have thought them sufficient in themselves,
which induced him not to attend. The proceedings of
the Committee were unparalleled in history. They
were secret proceedings ; parties had no opportunity of
confronting their accusers, and the judges were not res-
ponsible. He was certainly surprised to find that the
Noble Lord, the Member for London, should be a party
to such proceedings. He had lately been reading a
work of the Noble Lord's, relating to civil liberty. He
believed it was written many years ago--(A laugh)—
in which the Noble Lord, when enumerating the advan-
tages of the British Constitution concluded as follows :
" We must never forget, however, that there is yet an-
other security which is, perhaps, more valuable than any
other, that the trials are public, that th 3 accused is
brought face to face with his accuser before the coun-
try."—(Hear, hear.) How was he to know what Mr.
Warburton stated when he went before the Committee ?
or that lie would not be convicting himself in every word
he stated ? Having said this, he would leave it to the
House to decide whether he should attend the Committee,
and he should bow to that decision, because, though he
was perfectly aware that in doing so he was sacrificing a
great principle, he was conscious that he would be
sacrificing a still greater one in not performing what he
considered his duty to the House.—(Hear.) But he would
say this openly, and in the face of the House—
and in spite of any consequences that might result—he
would adhere firmly to it,-that he would produce no do-
cuments and would not answer a single question that
might in the very shadow of a degree compromise, or
even cast a slur on the character of any one person in the
borough he hall the honour to represent.—(Conservative