The Sun.
London, England, 1842-01-14 00:00:00

Mr. COOKE repeated the question, and said he would
;ive a chance to recal his words,

Palmer, who had put a bold front on the matter, paused.
Mr. COOKE told him he should call the officer of the
prison to show he was there.

Palmer still paused, and, on being pressed, said, " I
.annot deny but I was there.

The COURT indignantly dismissed the petition, and
Palmer, who seemed unmoved at the exhibition, left the
Court.

POLICE IN.TELL/GENCE.
MANSION-HOIME.
Aldermen Sir PETER LAURIE, WILSON, and GIBBS
sat yesterday to investigate charges against the crowd of
young men and boys who were on Wednesday accused
:)f having gone in gangs into the shops of two bakers,
and stolen bread and cakes and biscuits, to the great
terror of the neighbourhoods of Cannon-street and
Bow-lane. Upon their arrival at the Mansion House,
the Alderman were informed that sixteen more young
men and boys had been added to the list of bread.:
stealers, for offences committed in the night of the day
on which the examination of the first gang took place—
an evidence of a system of rebellion and violence, which
Sir Peter Laurie, the senior Magistrate present said,
must be crushed in its commencement by the most
rigorous measures.
The Justice-room was crowded with tradegpeople,
marty of whom had witnessed the conduct of the prisoners.
Alderman WILSON said •he wished to be informed
whether there was any truth in the statements trade by
some of the prisoners who had been examined on Wed-
nesday before him, that they met with difficulties in
Peckham workhouse, as to permission to stay in that
place and break stones.-
J. A. Jopp, the son of one of the relieving officers of
the City of London Union, stated that he recollected the
*es of several of those prisoners, whom he then recog-
nised, as having applied at various times at the house in
Cannon-street, for orders to go into Peckham Work-
house, which orders they uniformly receives:.
Some of the prisoners here stated that they had, to be
sure, received orders, uniformly, upon application to Mr.
Jopp, to go into the workhouse, but they asked what
could orders avail them wir:n they were obliged to turn
out of that place at seven in the morning.
The ALDERMEN, after some consultation, deter-
mined to select from the prisoners who
ad been
charged the day before, such of them as could be sworn
to as having entered Mr. Church's shop, and stolen bread,
and distributed it amongst the crowd outside. Their
names were 'Joseph Gardiner, William Bradent, James
Cornish, George Allen, Henry Wilson, and William Toe.
Mr. Church stated that he could swear that four of
the above-mentioned persons entered his shop on Tues-
day evening, and took bread and biscuits and seed-cake
away with them without asking a question, and divided
the eatables amongst the part of the gang remaining in
the' street, which appeared to him to amount to between
30 and 40.
One of the policemen who interfered, said, that when
he was taking a-Aiay the four prisoners, to whose iden-
tity Mr. Church -swore, eleven others followed, and
wished to go into the sta:ion-house, but were prevented
by the closing of the door.
Mr. Church—l was sitting in my parlour when they
walked into the shop, and on turning my head round I
saw the four I can now identify, and six or seven others,
helping themselves to whatever was within their reach.
Each of them took something.
Some of the prisoners thus accused denied that they
had entered the shop at all, but they all admitted that
they had eaten of the bread, although not of the
seed-cake.
Mr. Church—You certainly did partake of the seed-
cake, and some of you said the cake was nice, and you
would certainly come again for more.
Alderman WILSON—That shows that the visit was
not one of starvation, but a regular preconcerted plan.
Mr. Church—They said it was a regular plan.
Alderman WILSON—No doubt it is a conspiracy
amongst forty or fifty to plunder. It is proper I should
state that I have seen the Lord Mayor this morning on
this very serious subject, and he has expressed his deter-
mination to resort to the most rigorous measnres against
every future delinquent of this description.: The sirczn.ow,
before us are committed to Newgate for:. .trial for the -
robberies in Mr. Church's house. YI .
Gardiner then denied that he was a ringgl6titleakl,ilre
-merely joined the rest who appeared tc;
tressed, in trying to
,get something to eat':
Twele othtrs,.,who had been taken '
Wednesday,...vc(kbMien placed at the 'balt;.Nrt
in A-atilt:Lg.-street, proveil thatAio and
a.number of others, about thirty-five, surrounded Ins shop
and eolnuaolage&talting the bread ; he identified four of
them, who gave their names, George Harness, James
Curtis, Wilson—Reed, and Joseph Hartley, as being in
the shop. Mr. Clury begged that Sir Peter would treat
the case summarily.
Sir P. LAURIE said he could not ; it was a clear case
of stealing, and the bakers must be protected.
The commitments were all made out, and theprisoners
were taken to Newgate.
The other prisoners, against whom there was no evi-
dence as to stealing the bread, but who had been seen
dividing it outside, were then put to.the bar, and informed
that sixteen had just been committed to Newgate, and
that in all probability many of that number would be
transported.
The multitudes of. young men and boys who had been
brought - up as participators in the plunder, outside
of the shops of the two prosecutors, were then discharged,
with an assurance that if they joined in any future
criminal act of the kind, they might calculate upon the
most severe infliction of punishment for the offence.
MA II YLE B ONE.
On Thursday Henry Giles and John Howse, the former
foreman, and the latter shopruan, to Mr. Samuel AdaMs,
a tailor and woollendraper, residing in Brewer-street,
St. Pancras, were placed at the bar before Mr. Long,
on the charge of having plundered their employer of
property to the amount, as it is supposed, of from
2001. to 3001.
, The evidence, which was veryvolominous, went to
show that, in consequence of prosecutor having missed
property to a large amount, he communicated the fact to
Inspector Aggs, of the S division, who on Wednesday
evening, the sth inst., repaired to the shop, and there
saw the prisoner Giles. He was questioned by prose-
cutor with-regard to 17 yards of cloth, which had disap-
peared in a most unaccountable manner, but he denied all
knowledge thereof ; he was searched, and two dupli-
cates, which he had secreted beneath his under clothing,
fell upon the floor, the said duplicates being,for cloti
pledged at the shops of pawnbrokers in the neighbonr-,
hood. Both the pieces were pawned by the prisoner
Howse, one in his own name, and the other in that
of Giles. On the Inspector telling Giles that his
lodgings must be examined, he expressed a wish to
speak to the prosecutor, at the same time making an
observation respecting his wife and family. His lodg-
ings were searched, and in them were found some
hundreds of pieces of black, blue, and medley-coloured
cloths, of different lengths, a pilot coat, a frock ditto,
two pairs of trowsers, three waistcoats, and a quantity of
silk and thread, together with 21 pieces of shalloon, 45
pieces .of moleskin, and a variety of other articles, a por-
tion of which property he (Giles) admitted belonged to
the prosecutor, and said he hoped he would not be pressed
against severely, on account of his wife and children.
The property was produced and prosecutor identified
a great portion of it, and he had no doubt with regard
to the whole of the articles discovered being his. The
value of what had been brought forward was between
351. and 401, which was somewhere about a tenth part of
his loss,
The prisoners stand committed for trial, but will be
brought- up again on Saturday.

THAMES OFFICE.
Yesterday Mr. Baker the Coroner, attended by several
jurymen and other gentlemen, waited upon Mr. Ballan-
tine, and- stated that he had just been engaged in a very
important inquiry respecting the death of a man named
James Skelton,
.late boatswain of the ship Ellen Mary,
who died in consequgnee of eating buffalo beef of a most
unwholesome description. The Jury had come to an
unanimous decision that the beef was of a noxious and
danger Ons quality ; but they were unable to impose a
deodand, because the putrid meat was of no value ; but
were anxious that the buffalo beef which remained on
board ship in the London Dock shOuld be destroyed, and
requested him to apply to the Thames Police Magis-
trates on the subject.
,Samples' of the beef had been
produced by the Thames Police offic,-, and it was. most
offensive to all who came near it. Mr. Evans, the Su-
. perintendent of the River Police, had examined the
provisions, and declared that such food was unfit for
human beings, and condemned its use. He hoped;under
these circumstances, the Magistrate would direct same
of his officers to seize the bad meat and cause it to be
destroyed.
Mr. BALLANTINi; was not aware that he had any au-
thority: to seize and condemn stores, unless they were
Government stores improperly on board ship, nor had he
any- control over the river police. 'lt' the Learned Co.
roner was satisfied with the verdict of. the Jury, it would
have its effect if the decision found its way into the
public journals ; and after that, shOUld the Captain of
the vessel dare to serve out provisions condemned by the
verdict of a Coroner's Jury, and any fatal consequences
engued; he would be liable to severe punishment. He
shduld be happy to assist the Coroner if he would point
out the means. •
Mr. Baker—l think some power is vested in the Magis-
trate to seize and destroy unwhOlesome food, and can be
applied in the same way as the destruction of bad meat
in a market.

Mr. BALIANTINE—Under some local Acts, powers
are given to Magistrates to seize and destroy unwhole-
some food, but I of no general law on the subject
which gives me authority to send an officer to seize bad
provisions on board ship.
Mr. Symons—There is no law to enable a police officer
.to go on board ship and take the stores away.
Mr. Baker—Well, I have done my duty, and can take
no further trouble in the matter.
Mr. BALLANTINE—If there has been any mismanage-
ment with the provisions, the owners will take care and
remedy the evil, and prevent this bad meat going out
again. You had better speak to some of the Thames
Poilllicedo what isectoright, Irs on thdare se subjectay., Mr. Symons, and they
w
Mr. Baker thanked the Magistrate, and took his leave.
WORSHIP. STREET
EXTENSIVE ROBBERY AT THE SWAN WITH TWO
NECKS.—John Berry was placed at tho bar, for re-ex-
amination, upon a charge of having been, concerned io
stealing a cash-box, containing 221. 10s. Bd. in money,
and several bill
s of exchange and cheques, the property
of Mr. Chaplio, the proprietor of the Swan with Two
Necks, in Lad-lane.

It appeared that on Monday afternoon, Mr. Varle, a clothier, in Higb-street, Sboreditch, gave information to police constable, H, 34, that a cheque for 141.65. Bd.
which he suspected had been stolen, had been offered
to him a short time before in pay meat for some clothes,
and that he bad watched the UM who offered it into