The Sun.
London, England, 1842-01-21 00:00:00

IN THE MATTER OF THOMAS -FEACHIE.

The iaaolvent, who vrai described as a botanical me-
deller In wax, in North-street, Brighton, surrendered
on his bail, and the hearing of the case was further post-
poned to the 22d of February.

POLICE INTELLIGENCE.
UNION-HALL.

On Wednesday George May was brought before Mr.
Cottingham, charged, on suspicion, with committing a
highway robbery, attended with circumstances of great
violence, on the person of Eliba Bentley, the wife of a
policeman.
Policeman 79 L, stated that on the preceding night,
about a quarter after eleven o'clock, as he was proceeding
along his beat, in passing the end of a narrow and badly
lit up thoroughfare, called Clarence-place, at the rear of
Lambeth Workhouse, his attention was called on hear-
ing a low moaning noise. He immediately went to
the spot, and saw a female lying in the middle of
the road on her face, and a man, resembling the pri-
Aoner, stood at a short distance off, who, on seeing
him (policemen) addressed him, saying that the wo-
man was in the same position when he came up. The
policeman then asked the man to assist him in lifting up
the female, and when they got her up they found that
she was in a state of insensibility ; upon which the wit-
ness asked the man to help him to take her to the work-
house, which he refused, alleging that he was in a hurry,
and he then went away. When the policeman turned
his lantern on the woman's countenance he observed a
white lawn handkerchief crammed tightly in her mouth,
which he pulled out, and two other policemen belonging
to the same division coming up soon afterwards, they
all assisted in conveying her to the workhouse, where
medical assistance being at hand, restoratives were em-
ployed, and in about an hour and a half from the period
of her admission, she recovered sufficiently to be enabled
to describe the circumstances attending an assault and
robbery committed on her, and the person of her assail-
ant. She was, however, too ill to attend the present ex-
amination.
John. Bentley, a policeman, stated that the female al-
luded to was his wife, and that on the preceding night,
about eleven o'clock, while he was on his beat, his wife
brought him the key of the street-door, in order to let
himself in the next morning when he came off duty. But
she stood. conversing with him about five minutes, and
told him that she had been at the savings' bank and
drawn out eight sovereigns, which she said were tied -up
in the corner of her white handkerchief which she had in
her hand at the time. She then left him, and walked
away towards their lodging, and he saw no more of her
until he was informed that she was lying at
Lambeth Workhouse. The witness here proceeded to
detail the account given by his wife of the outrage and
robbery committed on her, which was to the following
effect :—That soon after she left witness, and as she was
walking along near the end of Clarence-place, a man
came up to her and said that, he had seen her courting a
policeman, and that he (the man) would now court her.
That the man then grasped her round the body, and tried
to kiss her, and she threatened to strike him, upon which
he immediately struck her a blow between the eyes, and'
another blow on the head, which knocked her down, and
she became insensible, and recollected nothing that passed
afterwards. The white handkerchief taken out of her
mouth when she was found by 79 L, contained the eight
sovereigns, which she had tied up in one corner when
she parted with her husband ; but they were all gone,
and her gown and petticoat were cut through with a
sharp instrument, and a gold ring, and 4s. 6d. in silver,
taken out of her pocket. She also gave a description of
her assailant, which afterwards led to the apprehension
of the accused.

79 L stated that from the description Mrs. Bentley
gave of the man who assailed her, he took the prisoner
into custody at his lodging the same night, and when he
was brought to the workhouse for her to see him, she
said that he resembled her assailant, that he was dressed

like him, and had large dark bushy whiskers like the
prisoner.
The prisoner said that it was a mistake altogether, and
that he was not near the spot where the offence was com-
mitted ; that he could prove he was at the King's Head
in Kennington-lane the whole of the evening in ques-
tion, and did not leave it till he went home.

- 79 L stated thas he was confident the prisoner was the
man he saw standing near Mrs. Bentley when he was at-
tracted to the spot on hearing her moans, and who walked
away and refused to assist in taking her to the station-
house. That he turned his bull's-eye lantern on the
man's face, and had therefore an opportunity of seeing
it, and this made him still more convinced that the pri-
soner was the man.

The accused, however, still asserted that he was not
the man, and in reply to the Magistrate's questions with
regard to his situation in life, he said that he had re-
cently been discharged from the police for an affection
in one of his arms, and since that period he was acting
as waterman to a coach-stand until he could procure
other employment.
The prisoner's father, a respectable man, said that he
was convinced that both Mrs. Bentley and the policeman
must be mistaken in the identity of his son, for he was a
young man who always bore a good character, and that
he was incapable of committing such an act as that of
which he was suspected.
Mr. COTTINGHAM said that at present he could not dis-
charge the accused, but would accept of heavy sureties
for his appearance to answer the charge on a future day.
The accused was then adjudged to enter into his own
recognisance in the sum of 100/., and to find two sureties
of 501. each to be and appear at that Court on that day
week, and in the interval the police were directed to
make the strictest inquiries as to where he was about the
time the assault and robbery was committed.
In justice to the accused, it is necessary to state that
when he was taken into custody on the night in question
at his lodgings, there was no money found in his posses-
sion, with the exception of a few pence.
In the course of the day he procured the necessary
sureties for his appearance, and he was set at liberty.
1Y OR SHIP- STREET.
Yesterday John Barry, a reed-maker, was placed at
the bar for final examination, charged with having
stolen a cash-box containing bankers' cheques
(drawn
on Messrs. Carr, Gllpn, Halifax, and Co., the bankers),
and bills of exehanglgf to the amount of nearly 3001., the
property of Mr. William Chaplin, coach proprietor,
Swan-with-Two-Necks, Lad-lane.
Diehard Runt, No, 34, said, on last Tuesday week be
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