The Sun.
London, England, 1829-01-22 00:00:00

HATTONCGARDEN.

A fashionably-dressed young man, of the name
Francis Deacon,-was yesterday brought up before
Mr. Serjeapt SELLO and Mr. ROGERS, in custody
of Hall, an officer, and placed at the bar on the
following charge of felony :
Mrs. Sarah Hopkins, a gold-burnisher, residing at
No. 19, Goswell-road, stated that on. Saturday
night, between eight and nine o'clock, after having
received from Mr. French, jeweller, of Clerkenwell-
close, some gold articles to burnish, which being
carefully wrapped up in paper, were laid into her
basket, she called at her son's house, in Corporation-
row, where the prisoner, with whom she was inti-
mately acquainted, and, in fact, on a footing of very
hearty friendship, happened to be at the time. She
there took the articles, consisting of two plain gold
crosses, with 12 collets in them, and a gold pin, out
of her basket, for the purpose of instructing a female
acquaintance of her's in the art of burnishing, when
the prisoner drew near them, took up the articles in
his hands, very curiously examined them for a long
and made several inquiries as to their weight,
value, &c. She received the articles again from him,
and having deposited them in her b::sket as before,
she took leave of the prisoner and left the house. Sho
had been gone but a very few moments, however,
when tie prisoner who had almost immediately fol-
lowed her, came up with her in Percend-street, and
observing that she walked rather slow in conse-
quence of a lameness in one of her feet, kindly offer
ed her his arm, and begged to carry the basket till
she got home. Being glad to receive his assistance,
• proffered as she imagined, from motives of disinte-
rested benevolence, she thanked him, and they
walked on together into Wellington-street, where
she was to stop at a friend's house. On the way,
she could perceive the prisoner fumbling with the
basket, and on one occasion putting his hand behind
him into his coat-pocket, and heard the rustling of
paper ; but so great was the confidence she reposed
in, and so hi!.ll an opinion had she of, his integrity,
that a thought of the gold or a ray of suspicion never
glanced across her mind ; and when they came to
the door of the house where she had to stop, the
pri:oner delivered to her the basket, and shaking
hands with her, wished her a good night, and with-
drew, but in a very hurried manner, and, she could
distinctly observe, much flurried. On receiving the
basket, she felt it somewhat lighter than before, and
having examined it, to her very great astonishment
missed the paper in which were contained the above
gold articles. They were of the value of 5/.
Hall, the officer, stated, that he took the prisoner
into custody at his father's residence in York-street,
City-road, but though he made a diligent search for
the articles stolen, he could find no clue to them.
The prisoner, who is a drysalter by trade, and
had been occasionally employed by the son of the
prosecutrix to sell precious stones and other articles
of jewellery for him, denied that he knew any thing
whatever of the gold now missing. He stated that
he has been three months out of employ. The Ma-
gistrates remanded him till Friday.

We hear that Hare, when he was questioned
by the agents and counsel employed by Mrs. Wilson, pe-
remptorily declined to answer any questions ; and in pass-
ing troth the room where he had been brought for exami-
nation, he observed, with a satirical laugh, to a person in
the court-yard,—" They want to hang me, I suppose."—
Edinburgh Evening Courant.

The following circumstance occurred with re-
ference to the banking-house of Stephenson and Co. :—A
gentleman at a considerable distance from London, having,
a few days before their failure, received some intelligence
unfavourable to their stability, came with haste up to
town, and applied to a friend, who is a partner in an emi-
nent commercial house, in order to ask his advice: that
gentleman happened to be out of town. -He then went to
another friend, whom he did not find at home. He
thought he would go to the banking-house, and form his
opinion as to how things were going on ; on doing which,
he found nothing that could excite the least suspicion in
his mind. Hr therefore drew a small sum of 20/. or 301.
for his travelling expenses, and returned home. In two
days after, he heard of the failure of the house, in which
l;e had nearly 20,0001. Fortunately, he is a gentleman
of very large property.
A few days ago, a small heavy box, on its
way from Birmingham, in England, to Fyvie, in Aber-
deenshire, and which was suspected to contain base coin,
was intercepted at Aberdeen. On the box being opened
by the proper authorities, it was found to contain no fewer
than 314 base half-crowns, which the Sheriff directed to
be melted down. The name on the address of the box
was fictitious. On the coin being taken out, the box was
forwarded by the mail-coach to the post-office, where, by
the address, it was desired to he left ; and we understand,
that the box was immediately called for, and taken away
-by a man in the parish of Meldrum, who is well known in
that quarter..—E'dinturgh Evening Courant.