The Sun.
London, England, 1845-11-17 00:00:00

THAMES.

Benjamin Barnett, aged 34, described as of no trade, and
lately residing in Spitalfields, was charged with being con-
cerned in an outrage upon Joseph Bray, No. 43 H, and
Edward Burgess, No. 198 H. Both constables appeared in
a woeful plight with their heads bound up. Burgess had
received a cut on the nose, which completely divided it, and
there was an incised wound of considerable depth on his
temple.
Mr. Pelham appeared for the prisoner.
Bray, who was in an exceedingly weak state, said he was
called by Burgess on Thursday night, between eight and
nine o'clock, to secure a horse and cart, supposed to contain
stolen property, and convey it to the station •house. He
was suddenly attacked by a mob of bad characters, who
said the horse and cart should not be removed. Exclama-
tions of down with them, knock their heads off, were heard,
and a furious attack was made upon him and Burgess. He
saw a knife brandished. He received a most tremendous
blow from a deadly instrument called a life-preserver, the
end of which was loaded with iron or lead. He was dragged
away from the horse's head, and received other blows from
the life-preserver, and was carried off insensible. He swore
to the prisoner having struck him with the life-preserver,
and be had a brown coat on.

Burgess, who was also in a weakly condition from loss of
blood, said he was in plain clothes, and saw a horse and cart
drive up to the King's Arms, Whitechapel-road. There
was a quantity of straw and a sack covered over something
in the cart. He suspected it contained stolen property.
After seeing two men alight and go into the public-honee,
he stopped till Bray came up, and desired him to take
charge of it. He went into the King's Arms for the pur-
pose of securing the parties, but could not see them. He came
out again and was about to drive the horse and cart to the
station-house, when he and Bray were surrounded. The pri-
soner, who was known to him, struck him. The prisoner
was the most active among them. After a desperate strug-
gle a knife was used upon him. He received a dreadful
wound across the temple, and another cut across the nose,
which hung by the skin until his wounds were dressed at
the hospital.
In cross-examination by Mr. Pelham, Burgess said he
stopped the horse and cart because he was certain something
wrong was going on. He knew the prisoner well.
A certificate was then put in, stating that Bray was in
danger from the injuries he received, and he was imme-
diately removed in a coach to the hospital.
Inspector Donegan said the prisoner was apprehended at
ten o'clock the same night, and officers were in search of other
persons concerned in the affray.
Mr. BALLANTLNE said the case was a most serious one, and
must be further investigated. He remanded the prisoner till
Friday next.
The following property was found on Barnett :—A half-
plate, engine-turned, double-bottomed silver watch, jewelled
in six holes, maker's name "William Haslett, London, No.
377," with a heavy gold curb chain attached; two gold
mourning rings, one marked outside "In memory of" and
inside " John Richardson, Esq., Obit. 13th of Aug. 1840, in
his 70th year ;" the other with an inscription inside only,
"Benjamin and Anna Bond, also Charles Bond ;" and in
gold. The property has been deposited for inspection at the
Denmark-street station-house.
Friday night both policemen were in the London Hospital,
and reported to be in a dangerous condition.
CROYDON.

On Saturday Wm. Ful!er, one of the letter- carriers attached
to the Croydon district, attended before Messrs. Reid, Adams,
and Sutherland, the presiding Magistrates, at the Town-
hall, in discharge of his recognisances, to answer a charge of
having unlawfully embezzled and secreted a letter containing
a sovereign, the property of her_Majesty's Postmaster-Ge-
neral. _ _ _

The charge was made against the defendant under the fol-
lowing circumstances :—lt appears that for a considerable
time there have been complaints of the loss of letters, con-
taining money and other valuables, sent to Croydon, and
with a view to detect the depredator, the Post-office authori-
ties made arrangements to send four letters, each containing
money, upon a certain day, to addresses within the four
different deliveries comprising the Croydon district. One of
these letters, containing a sovereign, was addressed to a
gentlemen at Addiscombe-house, and this letter formed the
subject of the present charge. The four letters arrived in
due course at the Croydon post-office, and the defendant and
the three other letter carriers employed in the establishment
sorted them as usual. The letter in question not being
found among the parcel of letters that were to be sent to
the Addiscombe delivery, the defendant was sent for imme-
diately, and in the middle of his bundle of letters
there appeared the letter referred to, which he had
no business to have, as Addiscombe was not within
hie delivery, and he accounted for the possession of
the letter by stating that it must have got among his
bundle of letters by mistake while the letters were being
sorted. Upon this he was taken into custody and under-
went an examination before Mr. Sutherland, who admitted
him to bail until this day. The letter, it appeared, had not
been opened, nor its contents in any way disturbed.
Mr. Ramsey, one of the superintendent of letter-carriers
at the General Post-office, now attended, and stated that the
Post-office authorities had looked over the depositions, and
they were of opinion that it was not advisable to proceed
with the prosecution, as they did not think it likely that a
conviction would take place under the circumstances.
The defendant was consequently discharged.

BRIGHTON POLICE COURT.
(From the Brighton Herald.)
[Before Major ALLEN, Sir G. WESTPHAL, J. BORRER,

and T. J. BELLAMY, Esq.]
THE ITALIAN AND Ins TORTOISE.-011 Thursday an
Italian boy, whose soft delicate features formed a strong
contrast with the hardy and dogged expression of the
English vagrant, was placed at the bar. In answer to
the demand for his name, he replied by a very arch
smile, and Mr. Chase said he did not speak English, but
that Lorenzo Loriena, an Italian lodging•house keeper,
was in attendance, who would act as interpreter.
Loriena accordingly addressed him in Italiar, but the
boy merely smiled in reply, and looked down at some-
thing in his breast.
" What has he got there?" asked one of the Magis-
trates.

"It's a tortoise," replied an officer, and, going up to
the boy, he took the poor animal away from hira and
placed it upon the table. The people laughed as the
tortoise put out its queer-looking head and dragged
itself slowly and awkwardly along the table, and the
boy looked at them and smiled too, and then again
looked at his tortoise.
A policeman deposed to seeing the boy down two
areas on the King's-road.
"Did you hear what he said?" inquired Major
ALLEN.
Policeman—l didn't understand what he said, but he
had a tortoise, and he went down the areas.
Major ALLEN (to Loriena)—Does he lodge a ith you.
—Si, si.
And who pays for him?—Himself. The boy is by
himself. He came in last week.
Major ALLEN—You don't know who brought him
into this country?—The man is in London. He's his
uncle, and he was to have come down yesterday with a
piano for the boy.
Major ALLEN—Does the tortoise belong to you?—
No, no, it's his tortoise.
Does he deny having been down the areas?
The man spoke in Italian to the boy, who smiled
nodded his head, and looked at his tortoise.

The magistrates consulted together. "Can you take
care of the tortoise?" asked Major ALLEN of Loriena.
" Yes, I can take care of it."

" Because we can't commit that—they won't take that
in at Lewes. Tell the boy he is committed for three
weeks to hard labour.

The punishment—(was it not unnecessarily severe?)
—was coxnmunicated to the poor boy. He only smiled
again, and looked at his tortoise, which was crawling
ab-ut the table.

A policeman now took the animal and handed it over
to Loric•na; and the boy was motioned to below. His
eyes followed his tortoise, but the smile still lingered on
his soft features, as, with his head towards the tortoise,
he stepped down the steps and was lost to sight.

HORRIBLE MURDER.
FRIGHTFUL MUTILATION OF THE BODY.
STAFFORD, SATURDAY MORNING.—A most horrible mur •
der was perpetrated on Wednesday last, at a place called
Alsager's Bank, in the parish of Audley, in this county,
which, from the shocking circumstances connected with it,
has produced the greatest excitement throughout the county.
The name of the murdered man was Adolphus Fielding, 49
years of age, respectably connected, and lived in Stock••road,
Newcastle. He was a potter by trade, but his sight declining,
became a hawker in small wares.

The murderer is a stonemason, of the name of James
Dean ; he is a married man, separated from his wife, and
lived w;th another female. It appears that about noon on
Wednesday. Fielding went into the cottage where Dean
lived, who had been ill during the week, and had not been
at work. It does not appear that there was any one else in
the house at the time, excepting Dean's son, a little boy
live years of age. Shortly afterwards the woman who
cohabited with him was met in the road by the child, who
told her that his father was beating the old man. On her
hastening to the cottage, to her great horror she saw through

the opened door the headless body of the unfortunate man
on the floor, deluged with blood, and Dean striking at
the head of the murdered man with an axe. The alarm
brought numbers to the spot, but, from the ferocious ap
pearance of Dean, they were afraid to enter the
cottage. Seeing the crowd, Dean took up a portion
of the brains of his unhappy victim, and threw them at the
bystanders. A collier, named Scott, inure resolute than the
rest, then attempted to secure him, and received several
wounds about the neck and face, Dean having armed him-
s4lf with a pair of scissors and a knife. The infuriated man
then bolted the door, and having placed the head of his vic-
tim on the fire, commenced blowing it with the bellows. It
appearing to be the intention of the murderer to consume the
body, several people got on to the roof of the cottage, and by
pouring water down, the chimney extinguished the tire.
They then stopped the chimney up, and the force of the
steam and smoke drove him to one of the upper rooms. The
street-door was then forcedby the villagers, and the extent of
the frightful tragedy was immediately apparent. The body
still remained on the floor, and the head, when taken off the
fire, was so burnt that it scarcely presented a human aspect.
During this time Dean stood at the top of the stairs, armed
with another axe of a larger size than that he had just used,

and repelled his assailants by brandishing it about, and
throwing bottles and other things that he could lay hands on
at them. Eventually, some policemen broke through the
roof, and rushed upon him as he was crouched in one corner
of the room. What with his blackened features with dust
and smoke, and his clothes thoroughly saturated in the blond
of his unhappy victim, he presented a spectacle perfectly
appalling. After very great resistance he was handcuffed,

and their conveyed to the " lock up" at Audley. At the in.
quest held on the body of poor Fielding, on Thursday last
before Mr. Harding, the county coroner, the following evi
dente was adduced :

Frances Maycock said she cohabited with Dean. Between
the hours of eleven and twelve o'clock on Wednesday last,
she left Dean and his little boy in the cottage. Had not
been gone more than five minutes when she met her son,
who cried out that his father was beating the old man. She
ran to the house, and on opening the door, saw Dean on the
floor with the body of the old man, whose head was off. He
did not appear to notice her, and she ran into the main road
and gave the alarm. The razor produced belonged to a
widow who owned the cottage in which they lodged. Inthe
early part of the week she had noticed that his conduct was
very strange ; he appeared not to know what he was about.
William Scott, the collier, stated that he was passing the
cottage when his attention was drawn to a loud screaming.
The door being open he went in, and saw Dean cutting away
at the head of the deceased. He held the hair in his left
hand and was cutting at it with an axe-hammer with his
right hand. The next moment the head was severed from
the body. When Dean saw him he dropped the axe, and
took up a knife from a bench which was near him, and
pointed it to witness with a hissing noise. Having got a rail
to defend himself, he returned, when he found Dean had armed
himself with a pair of scissors and a knife. Dean then came
up and stabbed him in the face and neck. In the struggle
they fell, and having recovered, he ran out of the house. He
then assisted the police in breaking through the roof and
taking Dean into custody.
A police inspector having proved the finding of a shovel
and a pair of tongs with blood upon them, which showed
that those weapons bad been used in the deadly affray,
Mr. C. Tait, surgeon, of Audley, said the head of the de-
ceased was taken off near the shoulder; the primary cause
of death was no doubt a fracture on the temple, which was
apparent.
All the witnesses being examined, the jury, after a short
consultation, returned a verdict of " Wilful Murder" against
the prisoner James Dean.
The prisoner, who was in the Court during the whole pro-
ceedings, and appeared quite unconcerned, was asked by the
Coroner if he wished to say anything; he replied, with a
vacant stare, " I was not taking any notice."
On the Coroner telling him the verdict the jury had re-
turned, he said, " I have a good deal to say, but I have for-
got it ; I did not want to kill him ; I did not kill any man,
did I?"
He was then removed in custody of the police to Stafford
gaol, to await his trial at the ensuing assizes.

SEDUCTION AND ATTEMPTED

SUICIDE OF A YOUNG FEMALE.

On Saturday a degree of considerable excitement pre-
vailed in the vicinity of Russell-street, Bermondsey, in con-
sequence of a young and handsome female named Mary Ann
Simmonds, aged seventeen years, the only daughter of
respectable parents residing in Edward-street, Star-corner,
Bermondsey, being removed from the parish workhouse of
St. Mary, Bermondsey, to the lunatic ward of Bethlehem Hos-
pital, St George's-fields, under the following distressing and
painful circumstances:—
It appears from the following particulars which have
been furnished to the reporter, that the unfortunate
female was recently in the service of Mr. Davis, umbrella
and parasol manufacturer, residing in the Westminster-bridge-
road, Lambeth, where she bore an excellent character for
her cleanliness and propriety of conduct, until a few days
since, when she became strange in her behaviour, which
was also attended by a lowness of spirits, and an evident at-
tack of insanity, which attracted the attention of the family.
After considerable difficulty, Mrs. Davis, who had always
been extremely kind to her, prevailed upon her to reveal the
cause of her unhappiness, which she at length consented to
do. She said that she had been keeping company with a
voting man named " Charles," an engineer in the employ of
Messrs. Maudslay and Co., the engineers of Westminster-
bridge •road. He was occasionally in the habit of meeting her
and taking her to a concert-room, in Charlotte-street, Black-
friars-road; that he had ruined her and promised her mar -
Hags, and now had entirely forsaken her. Her mistress,
seeing the danger of her staying in service, communicated
with the parochial authorities connected with the parish of
St. Mary, Bermondsey, to which her parents belonged, the
result of which was, her immediate conveyance to the lunatic
ward of the above parish, whither she was taken on Thurs-
day night, and placed under the usual restraint. The
same night, about ten o'clock, whilst the back of her at-
tendant was turned, she succeeded in raising the window e.f
her apartment, and jumped into one of the neighbour's gar-
dens, from which she made her escape. Several persons pro-
ceeded instantly in pursuit of her, as she was without bonnet
or shawl, but no tidings were heard of her for nearly two
hours, when she was discovered by a City police constable,
who first saw her on the centre of London-bridge, in the act of
leaping from one of the eastern recesses, but through the ac-
tivity of the officer she was providently prevented, and was
subsequently conveyed back to the above workhouse, where
it was ultimately found necessary by Mr. Tovey, the sur-
geon to the parish, to obtain a certificate for her removal to
Bethlehem Hospital, which was accordingly put in the hands
of Mr. Slow, one of the relieving officers of the parish, who
placed her in a cart, and conveyed her, at four o'clock on
Sunday afternoon, to that asylum. Her parents, who are
honest, hard-working people, are thus thrown into a state of
great trouble.

MARKET NEWS.-(SATURDAY
COVENT-GARDEN.

For the time of year, we were rather heavily supplied
with most articles, owing to which the demand was in s
sluggish state, at barely last week's quotations :—Potatoes,
from is 6d to 5s 6d per cwt; Turnips, is to 2s; Carrots,
5s to 6s ; Onions, is 3d to 2s ; Greens, is 6d to 2s 3d
per dozen bunches; Plums, 2s to 5s ; Apples, Is 6d to 4s;
Pears, 28 to 6s; and Spinach, Is to is 4d per half-sieve;
Hot-house Grapes, 2s 6d to 5s ; Out-door ditto, 4d to
10(1; Pine-apples, 5s to 8s ; and Filberts, 4d to 8d per lb ;
Red Cabbages, 2s 6d to 6s; and Nectarines and Peaches,
2s 6d to 8s per dozen ; Celery, 8d to Is 9d; Brocoli, Is
to 23 3d; and Horse-radish, 2s to 5s per bundle ; Lemons,
8s to 13s ; and Walnuts, 8d to is 4d per 100 ; Mush-
rooms, 8d to is per punnet.