The Sun.
London, England, 1829-12-04 00:00:00

BOW-STREET.

Yesterday a young woman, with the appearance
of great poverty, was brought before Sir R. BIRNIE
by Selley, a police constable, who charged her with
having attempted to drown herself on the previous
night.
The constable stated :that he was on duty in
Arundel-street, in the Strand, on Wednesday night,
about ten o'clock, when he observed the prisoner
hurrying towards the river, apparently in a state of
distraction. Witness, suspecting her intention, fol-
lowed her, and just as she was about to mount the
wall which :overlooks the river, he seized her, and
prevented her from throwing herself over. Witness
then conveyed her to the police station in Covent-
garden, when he procured her a pint of porter and
some bread and cheese, of which she partook most
ravenously.

Sir R. BIRNIE, after commiserating the situation
of the unfortunate young woman, asked her to what
parish she belonged ? The young woman replied
that she had lived as servant for two years with a
family in Church-street, St. Giles's.
Sir R. BIRNIE, after observing that a two years'
service gave her a claim for relief, asked her if she
had ever applied to the parish officers of St. Giles's ?
The young woman replied that she had made appli-
cation to the parish-officers for relief, but they re-
fused to allow her any. She would not bring her-
self to walk the streets for a subsistence, and being
wholly friendless and destitute, not having eaten any
thing for two days, she was driven to make an at-
tempt upon her &life, in order to get rid of her
miseries.

Sir R. BIRNIE told the prisoner that he would
order her relief, for which purpose he wrote to the
parish officers of St. Giles's, requesting that they
would take the young woman's case into their im-
mediate consideration ; and an officer was directed to
accompany her, and report to the Magistrate the
result of the application.
A young woman named Margaret Magrath
was charged by her master, Mr. Sprague, a whole-
sale stationer in Upper Thames-street, with rob-
bing him of various articles of wearing apparel, the
greater part of which she had pledged at the shop of
Mr. Chaffers, a pawnbroker, who resides at No. 43,
Watling street, within a few doors of the prose-
cutor's residence.

The articles pawned by the prisoner were pro-
duced, and identified by Mr. Sprague, who begged
to be allowed to put a few questions to the shopman
of the pawnbroker, with a view to prove that a
proper degree of caution had not been exercised in
taking in the articles from the prisoner, who must
have been known as the servant of a neighbour. The
shopman denied, however, that he knew the prisoner.
She was fully committed to Newgate for trial.
MARYLEBONF-OFFICE.

The young man who was apprehended at a pawn-
broker's in Oxford-street, on Tuesday, with some
velvet in his possession, supposed to be stolen, was
fully and finally examined yesterday, before Mr.
GRIFFITH.
In the first instance he gave his name John Horne,
but his real name is William Homewood, and he
held the situation of junior clerk with Messrs.
Lyles and Bolton, silk-mercers, &c. on Ludgate-hill.
John Little, a policeman of division D, No. 74,
stated that on Tuesday, about eleven o'clock, his
duty required him to call at the shop of Mr. Dobree,
a pawnbroker in Oxford-street, and while he was
there the prisoner came into one of the side boxes,
and offered the piece of velvet produced before the
Magistrate to pledge. The shopman asked him for
his name and address; he gave it John Horne, No.
27, Well-street; the shopman said that could not
be correct, for he knew the people at 27, Well-
street, and the prisoner was confused, and the wit-
ness told him it was his duty to ascertain whether lie
came by the velvet honestly, and he should go with
him to Well-street and inquire into his story. When
they got to the door, the prisoner said to the wit-
ness, It's of no use to knock, for I don't live here,
but I will tell you the truth. I went home with a
young woman last night, and I slept with her, and
this morning I had nothing less than a sovereign in
my pocket, which I thought was too much to give
her, and she gave me this piece of velvet." The
witness then told him he must take him before his
Inspector. The prisoner requested permission to
walk alone, and he would willingly go. This was
allowed, and he directly attempted to run away ; but
be was retaken. At ;
length the witness brought him
to this office, and searched him by order of the Ma-
gistratepocket, it appeared that be was in the employment
two bills of exchange found in his
; and by

of Messrs. Eyles and-Bolton. The witness Went to
their house, and made them acquainted with his
situation ; and on Wednesday he searched his box
at that place, and found some shawls, scarfs, hand-
kerchiefs, and other articles belonging to his em-
ployers, and eight duplicates relating to similar pro-
perty,Pledged with various pawnbrokers, ands bunch
containing several keys, two of which were skeleton
keys.
The witness also produced another duplicate for
a piece of velvet, pawned for 10s., in Skinner-street;
a silver watch, three new silk shawls, 21. 13s. lld.
in money, and other articles of less value, which he
found upon his person in searching him.
Mr. GRIFFITH asked the prisoner whether he
wished to put any questions to the witness.
He declined it, but observed, his father would
prove that he had the skeleton keys when at school.
Mr. Edward Eyles, of the firm of Eyles and Bol-
ton, identified the articles produced as their property.
He said the prisoner had been in their employ about
six months, as junior clerk.
The prisoner is of very genteel appearance, appa-
rently about 19 years of age, and his connections are
highly respectable. One of his uncles was present
during the examination, and, under the advice of his
friends, he declined saying any thing, and he was
committed to Newgate for trial.
LAMBETH-STREET.
A young lad named Charles Forgister was yester-
day brought before Mr. WALKER, at this office, and
charged by a porter named Benjamin Drake, with
having robbed him.
Drake stated that yesterday week he went into
the Red Lion public-house, Whitechapel, where he
saw the prisoner and another man sitting in the tap-
room. He sat down by the side of them, and called
for a pint of porter, of which they partook. On
going home he discovered that his pocket had been
cut out, and 19s. 3d. taken away. On the Monday
following he again went there, and had 255. in his
pocket, and again saw the prisoner, but on reaching
home he found his pocket cut and his money gone.
He remembered to have missed the prisoner at one
time, and said he supposed that he must have got
under the table and cut out his pocket while his
companion entertained him in conversation. He
went again the, next night and saw the prisoner
there, and had him apprehended.
Mr. WALKER said, there was no evidence to com-
mit the prisoner, and accordingly he was discharged.
Mr. Walker advised the complainant to be more
careful in future.
A tall strapping woman, named Eliza Snibbs, was
charged by her husband with having beaten him,
and pawned all his clothes : he had once before got
her sent to the House of Correction, but caused her
to be discharged on her promise of amendment.
She had since, however, behaved worse than ever.
Mr. WALKER ordered her to find bail to keep the
peace towards her husband for two mouths, in de-
fault of which she was locked up.
WORSHIP-STREET.
Yesterday Catherine Gill, a decently-dressed,
simple-looking young woman, said to be 21 years of
age, but younger in appearance, was placed at the
bar before Mr. BENETT, foe final examination on a
charge of robbing her master, Mr. Ware, an elderly
gentleman of independent property, in whose service
she had lived about six months ; and an old woman,
named Ann Dickenson, was charged with receiving
the stolen property.
The Magistrate said that all he had heard in the
course of his inquiry into the case, convinced him
that the young woman was not in a sound state of
mind, and therefore be should not commit her..
HATTON-GARDEN.
Yesterday two men, Robert Chandler and John
Bacon, were finally examined before Mr. Serjeant
SELLON and Mr. LAING, on a charge of disinter-
ring a body from the burial-ground of St. John's,
Clerkenwell, and were committed for trial at the
present Middlesex Sessions.
A fellow named Perkins, who hawk's fruit about
the streets, was charged with an assault under the
following aggravated circumstances :—That morn-
ing the defendant rapped at the door of a house in
Wilmington-square, and the lady, Mrs. Cuthbert,
herself opened it. He offered his fruit, consisting
only of apples, for sale, when the lady told him
they were not wanted, and attempted to shut the
door again. The defendant, however, resisted,
forced his way into the passage, and manifested a
determination not to leave the house until a pur-
chase was made of his apples. The lady had to
call for assistance, and an elderly gentleman came
forward, but the moment he made his appearance
the defendant struck him a violent blow on the head,
a repetition of which was only prevented by the in-
terposition of the police.
The defendant was fined in the penalty of 405.,
and, in default of payment, was committed to the
House of Correction for one month.
On Wednesday night Mr. Wilks, overseer of the
parishes of St. Andrew and St. George the Martyr,
carne before the sitting Magistrate, Mr.RooEtts,
to complain of the conduct of a number of paupers
who that evening assembled round the house of one
of the overseers in Holborn, and were exceedingly
clamorous for relief.
He stated that the parish authorities latterly
changed the usual mode of relieving the poor. In-
stead of giving them relief daily, as was the prac-
tice, they agreed to pay them one week's allowance
of Is. 6d., 25., or 2s. 6d., as the case might re-
quire, and the paupers willingly acceded to the ar-
rangement. Such of them, however, as wanted
economy, spent the money immediately, and after the
lapse of a day or two again applied to the overseers.
Mr. ROGERS observed, that the overseers did not
seem tolnow what human nature was. He con-
sidered the sums above specified to be too small for
the weekly maintenance of a human being, particu-
larly if he had a family of two, four, or six children.
He advised the overseers to recur to the old method
of relieving paupers, and ordered that all those now
brought before him should receive further relief that
night.