The Sun.
London, England, 1829-11-10 00:00:00

COOKE V. LAW.

This was an action of libel tried before Mr. Jus-
tice Gazelee at the last Essex assizes. The plaintiff
it appeared, having gone to Bury St. Edmund's to
witness the trial of Corder for the murder of Maria
Martin, stated, upon his return to Colchester, that
upon his going into an inn at Bury, immediately
after the termination of the trial, he was there asked
by some persons present, if he was not the gentle-
man who had come down from London to hang
Corder. This statement formed the foundation of a
paragraph in the defendant's paper, the Colchester
Gazelle, headed " A Cooke mistaken for a Jack
Ketch," in which the anecdote was related in a
manner calculated to throw ridicule on the plaintiff,
which was still heightened by some doggrel rhymes
that accompanied the prose version of the affair, and
which ended thus :

" The stupid elves mistook him by his look ;
But, instead of a Jack, lie proved to be a Cooke."

This was the publication of which the plaintiff com-
plained, and the Jury awarded him 10/. damages.
Mr. Serjeant JONES now moved for a rule to show
cause why the vet diet should not be set aside and a
nonsuit entered, or the judgment arrested. He con-
tended that the proof of the defendant's being the
publisher of the paper had failed, because in the
affidavit lodged at the Stamp-office the publisher's
name was described as E. 1. Law, whereas the de-
fendant's name was proved to be Edward John
Law; and there was also a variance in the descrip-
tion of his place of abode. The Learned Serjeanr,
-after dwelling upon the particulars, in which he-con-
tended that the evidence had fallen short of sutfi-

rick proof to sustain the verdict, then argued in
arrest of judgment that the declaration was bad, in-
asmuch as matter not contained in the libel having
been introduced by way of inducement and iuuendo,
there was no averment that the defend:int published
the libel of and concerning the plaintiff, " and of
and concerning the said matters," &c.; the omis-
sion of which latter words, he cited cases to show
was fatal.

The COURT was of opinion that there was no
gruund for arresting the judgment, but upon the first
part of the application,—namely, to set aside the
verdict.—Their Lordships granted a rule to shoe
cause.

POLICE INTELLIGENCE.

GUILDHALL.

Yesterday Mr. Alderman WAITIIMAN attended
at the Giltspur-street Compter, to dispose of the
night charges, in order that the parties who NO
been apprehended in the course of Saturday evening
and Sunday, on slight charges, might riot be de-
tained in gaol till Tuesday. There were 3.1 i per-
sons in custody.
George John Clark, otherwise Freeman, an as-
sistant to a newsvender at Layton in Essex, was
charged with stealing a small bag of silver, amount-
ing to 141. 4s.
From the evidence it appeared, that Mr. Fraser,
a nurseryman, at Layton, sent his man with a cart
to town on Saturday, with instructions to call at
Mr. Oliver's, a grocer, in the Kingsland-road, and
purchase 281 b. of soap, paying for the same with a
cheque on Masterrnan's, for IE/. The Mall over-
took the prisoner on the road, and gave him a ride
to town. Mr. Oliver tied up the change. for the
cheque in twO parcels, one of which contained sil-
ver to the amount above-stated. These we►e
thrown, with the soap, into a basket in the cart,
and the man saw the parcel of silver was safe when
be was at Clapton on his return. He afterwards
permitted the prisoner to ride in the cart, and when
he reached home he missed the silver. The pri-
soner bad quitted the cart about a quarter of a mile
from home, saying he should be in time for his tea;
but it appears, instead of taking his tea, he hastily
inquired for the list of Sunday newspapers he was
to purchase, and started instantly for town. Hills, •
a constable of Layton, - came to town the same
night, and while he was describing the prisoner,
about three o'clock in the morning, to Huckle, the
superintendent of the watch of St. Bride's, in order
that he might be secured when he came to the News-
venders'-hall, the prisoner himself came capering
along with a strumpet on each arm. Mackie over-
heard the prisoner remarking to the girls that he
knew Hills, although Hills did not recognise him,
and rightly conjectured he was the thief. Being
secured and searched, the bag, with steady 131. in
silver, was found on him, as also a memorandum
which Mr. Oliver haul put into the bag, stating the
ln•icc of the soap and the amount of silver and cop-
per given in change for the cheque.
The prisoner made no defence.

Mr. Alderman WAITIIMAN having reproached him
for his ingratitude to his old play-fellow and neigh•
hour.( Mr. Fraser'o man), committed him for trial.

BO NV.STR EET.

Yesterday a young woman named Williams, the
keeper of one of the infamous brothels in White
Hart-yard, Catherine-street, Strand, and a girl of
the town, named Wilkinson, were charged before
Mr. HALLS, by a foreigner named Harman's, with
having robbed him of his watch and its appendages.
It appeared that the complainant met the girl
Wilkinson in the Strand on Saturday evening, and
accompanied her to the house in question, where four
sit:flings were demanded of him, which he paid. A
further demand of a sovereign was then made by the
woman Wilkinson, who refused to suffer him to
leave the house until he paid it. Not having the
money about him, and fearing from the threats
which were held out to him that he might be ill-
treated, he prbposed to leave his watch as a de-
posit. proposal was accepted, and he was
. suffered to depart. The complainant then went in
' quest of an officer, and meeting Vicary, a police-
constable, in the Strand, he mentioned the circum-
stance to him, and proceeded to the house with the
officer, who took both the prisoners into custody,
upon 'which the watch was delivered up to Vicary.
Mr. HALLS asked the officer if he knew of his
own knowledge that the house was one of accommo-
dation for mess and women.—Vicary replied in the
• affirmative, and added that While he was there he
saw several persons in the house.
Mr. HALLS said that although the present evi-
dence could not support the charge,of felony, there
was proof sufficient of the character of the house to
warrant him in ordering that it should be imme-
diately indicted. He then ordered the prisoners to
find bail, the one for keeping a common brothel, and
the girl for being a prostitute.
Williamilarris, a man about 30 years of age,
was charged by Gough and Miles, two Surrey con-
stables, with having been at large contrary to a sen-
tence that had beets passed upon him at the Croy-
don Summer Assizes of 1825.

The prisoher, it appeared, had been once cast for
death, which sentence was afterwards commuted to
transportation for life. lie managed, however, to
effect his escape, was soon after apprehended for a
robbery, tried at Croydon, and again sentenced to
death, but escaped the gallows. and ultimately broke
prison, and has been at large since that period. lie
was fully committed for trial.