Star.
London, England, 1823-11-10 00:00:00

MR. WOODS' STATEMENT.

It is well-known ro the Public, that an attempt was
some time ago made to decoy a Mr. Woods into an un-
finished house in Manchester-buildings, Westminster, by
John Thurtell, for the supposed purpose of murdering
him. The following account of this singular business is
given by Mr. Woods himself:
On the morning of Monday, October 7, about a quar-
ter before seven o'clock, a man, habited as a journey-
nun carpenter, about five feet eight or nine inches
high, of dark completion, and with large black
whiskers, called at Mr. Woods' residence, and stated,
that a lady of the name of Brew, with whom Mr. Woods
was well acquainted, was desirous of seeing him upon
some important business, at a house in a street at West-
minster, the name of which he did not know, but it was
a street just beyond the Horse-Guards. Mr. Woods
was not satisfied with the account, and questioned him
as to the cause of Mrs. Brew being in Westminster, she
residing at Kensington. His answer was, that she was
stopping at a friend's house, and wished to see Mr.
Woods that morning, as she was going out of town.
Upon this Mr. Woods accompanied him to Manchester-
buildings, where he stopped at No.IO, which Mr. Woods
immediately saw was not inhabited. The door being
ajar, his suspicions were awakened that all was not cor-
rect, and he desired the man to step in and tell Mrs.
Brew, that he (Mr. Woods) was these. The man en-
tered, and having proceeded along the hall or passage
as far as the back parlour door, Mr. Woods saw John
Thurtell spring from the back parlour and strike the
man a heavy blow, which knocked hint with great vio-
lence against the opposite wall. The man hallooed out
something which Mr. Woods did not distinctly under-
stand, but to the effect that Thurtell had mistaken his
man. Mr. Woods immediately retired, not running, nor
pursued by John Thurtell, as is stated by some of the
newspapers, but walking at an ordinary pace ; and, on
looking back from the end of the street, he saw the mes,
senger at the door of the house gazing after him, but
not attempting any pursuit. Upon this Mr. Woods
waited on the son of Mrs. Brew, and was intormed by
him that that Lady had been for three weeks in the Isle
of Man. What follows is very mysterious. On his re-
turn house he found the following letter, which had been
left for him by a man of shabby appearance, immedi-
ately on his quitting the house with the messenger :
" Dean tint—An unknown friend informs you that Mare is a writ
out against you for 161. keep out ache way till after Friday nest."
In the evening of the same day he received the fol
Owing letter also :

" Monday Afternoon, 4 &Meta
" Stn—l am happy to inform you, that an unknown friend of
yours as settled tlhe action which you where about to be arrested for
this morning fsr la and costs; therefore you have no emotion to
make yourself uneasy about it. I understand you are indebted to
a Mr. Cozegs for his inSerfrance in this ungentlemanly act.
" I am, Sir, yours,
" JNO. CLARK."

" Clifford's Inn.

During the course of yesterday, several hundred per-
sons visited Proberes,cottage, and all the places in the
neighbourhood of Gilrs-hill.lane, which have been ren-
dered remat kable by circumstances connected with the
murder of Mr. Weare.

The Mario of Madrid contains a curious article, in
which it is stated that France, at the desire of Spain, has
prohibited the entrance of all the Constitutional Jour-
nals into the Peninsula. It seems that the Spanish Jour-
nals have been forbidden to publish any news, which
will render them as uninteresting as they used to be.
The latest accounts from the Morea say, that the
Greek Government has resolved to form a corps of
6,000 infantry, and 2,000 cavalry, disciplined in the
European manner. The German volunteers, still among
the Greeks, complain of the want of unanimity, which
is principally caused by alie ambition of some Chiefs
who study only their own interest, and thus hinder the
Greeks from making such a progress as might be rea-
sonably expected from the weakness of the Turkish
Government. In their last letters, however, they say,
that the Central Government begins to have more stabi-
lity and influence.—Dutoh Paper.
Woodcocks and snipes have already appeared on the
Eastern coast of the Isle of Thanet.

During the late storm upwards of 500 trees were
blown down in the Park of Lord B A THU asz,atCirencester.
Cross-readings have often been the amusement of
small wits, but ingenuity never placed two paragraphs
more mai-apropos than the following, which appeared
in a Sunday Paper of yesterday :
" Mr. G. blooarnit.n is appointed Chief Clerk Of the Kitchen, in
the room of the late Mr. Wu.sazon. Mr. Wmaszon, the son of
the late Mr. Waeszon, is appointeethe second Clerk of the
Kitchen, in the room of Mr. :%looarscx.o."
" The Winter Assizes commence on the Bth of December, when
these criminals will be put on their trial."
In the present overgrown state of our Police Estab-
lishment, we very much wonder that some of the nu-
merous officers and patrols attached to them should not
be stationed to prevent the iniquities continually prac-
tised on the poor unsuspecting seamen in the neighbour-
hood of Somerset House. There are several fellows
constantly prowling about the Strand, and, under pre-
tence of facilitating the receipt of the hard-earned prize-
money or wages which may be due to them, they con-
trive to ingratiate themselves with the poor sailors, and
eventually retire with them to some secluded public-
house, where, in one wall or other, they are plundered.
On Saturday last, three fellows were very busy in this
way, and they were observed to take the seaman into a
dark place at the corner of the One Bell-yard, near the
New-Church. Oae of them was shabbily dressed in an
old black coat; he had large red whiskers. The others
looked like Jews, and probably were so; these were,
rather better dressed.