Star.
London, England, 1825-03-28 00:00:00

CONDEMNED SERMON.

Yesterday morning, at the customary hour, the fol.
lowing unhappy convicts were ushered into the Chapel
of Newgate, to pay their last public act of devotion lu
the sanctuary or GOD ; ViZ. John Ferguson, agrd 25 ;
William Thompson, alias Lintott, 0 ; William Walker,
19 ; Roger Adams, 19 ; and James Dopey, 19.
The Rev. Mr. Cotton, the Ordinary, read the Ritual
of the Church, after the Morning Hymn had been sung,
in a solemn manner.

The unhappy men joined in the service with fervour,
and appeared to sustain their severe trial with uncom-
mon fortitude and resignation.
The discourse was extremely appropriate to the occa-
sion, and seemed to produce the desired effect, not only
on those to whom it was more particularly directed,
but also upon all those who are shortly to appear be-
fore an earthly tribunal.
At the close of the Service a most affecting scene took
place. Walker, one of the unhappy youths doomed to
suffer, arose from his seat, and respectfully begged the
indulgence of making a few observations. He pro-
ceeded with an ekqueoce beyond his years, and with a
serenity of mind almost unexampled, under circum-
stances so appalling, to address his fellow-prisoners, but
not those especially who, with him, are doomed to die
in a few hours, but more especially those who await
their trial. He pathetically exhorted them to attend to
the discourse they bad heard (a great part of which he
recited and commented upon), tor, perhaps, it would
shortly be their unfortunate lot to be placed in a similar
situation with himself.--The effect produced by this
address was wonderful. The Sheriffs, who were both
present, could not refrain from tears, and the prisoners,
and other inmates, felt the fcnce'ot his observations.

At the close of the affecting scene, the five unhappy
men were conducted to their cells, accompanied by Mr.
Baker. Upon entering the press•yard. they, as if by mu-
tual consent, proceeded to its extremity, and simulta-
neously fell on their knees. and remained in the act of
mental devotion for a considerable time. In the after-
noon the unhappy men were visited by their relations
and friends, the major part of whom are persons of
respectability.

Accounts from Persia state that another destructive
earthquake had taken place at Shiraz, about a month
subsequent to the one already noticed. By this last
visitation, that part of the city which had been hitherto
preserved, was completely levelled, and the account
states that a person standing at one of the gates may
now discern the one on the opposite side of the city, the
view of which had been intercepted by lofty buildings,
not one of which now remains.

A Catholic Chapel is likely to be opened at Tun-
bridge Wells, the ensuing season.

At Goodwood, in Susie:, is the lion carved in wood,
which adorned the head of Commodore Anson's ship,
the Centurion, during his circumnavigation of the
globe. It is set up at the Duke of Richmond Inn, with
this inscription
Stay, traveller, awbile,and view
On who has traveled mere than reo,
Quite round the globe ;. in each degree
Anson and I hare plough'd the sew;
Torrid and frigid Jones have past,
And safe ashore arrived at last ;
In ease and dignity appear,.
He in the House of Lords—l here !

•

POLICE. LYTELUGENCE.

BOWAITICRET. . •
•
CAIMON TO COVIITRY MIOISTRATES AXIS Panama Civlndaaa.-..-
Sir RICHARD Brenta has been mach necupied for several days pair
in attempting to pat a stop to a•geeently discovered system of
fraud (already noticed), by which it appears that, upon a moderate
calculation, upwards of 410,000 are annually drawn from the
public by gangs of men, women,and children, who travel about the
country, levying contributions on parish olcers by means of forged
Admiralty and War Office passes.
This nefarious system was discovered by the voluntary conks-
glen of an Irishman, whilst under examination before a Committee
of the Mendicity Society some days ago ; and investigations have
since taken place, by which its extent has been partly ascertained.
It appears that the system Itself is technically tailed reeding—pro-
bably because in every War Office jars the rode of the person-
'bearing it is Lid down. The head-quarters of the miters are in St.
Giles 's parish, under the direction of one ifece. likar4 a licensed:-
hawker by profession--assisted by his secretary, a Mr. Norton.-
whose office it is to prepare the forged passes, orfeakientis as ;bow
are called. There is another bead establishment at Norwich, ant!
regularly organized travelling gangs in every part of the country—r
each gang under the centroul of a Captain. Mich. Mears and his-
setretary Norton, and several subordinate town agents, have beetf
taken up, and are now in custody at this Office ; and among a great
quantity of finished and unfirtishedfmkosents, or passes, a sort of re
gister has been found, in which the route, or prescribed district, of
the diffment travelling gangs, appears to be drily set down ; for in-
stance, there is" Yorkshire—Captain Thompson's gang; " Seat
and Sussex—Captain Mahoney's gang ;" and so on. It is affirmed
that one of these gangs obtained trona the Parish officers in the short
distance between Chatham and London upwards of £42; and it is
in evidence that the " Captains" in the more distant parts of the
country are in the constant practice of transmitting theargatherings
to head-quarters in St. Giles's, by lint-like asters, or, bankers
checks upon London.
M A RLBOROUG ST REET.
Novix sum or CONJURATION.—A black female, fifty years of
age, was brought before J. E.Cosstrr, Esq. the Magistrate, charged
with a violation of the Police Act, in other words, with being a
professor in the occult sciences.
Her name is risobeth Build, and it was stated that she had been
able to obtain a pretty considerable sum of money, chiefly front
servant maids in families, by Inducing theist to believe that she
could give them the information which is so desirable tw 3 spinster.
viz. when she Is to have a husband, and what sort of personage he
will be. This black w•man's fame having spteod, as a In:acres, of
the black art, it 13 said that even titled Ladies have been so weak
and foolish as to visit her incog. and pay her handsomely for her
communications.

Mr. Conan? told the prisoner that she had obtained money from
a young woman by falsely pretending that she could discover stolen
property or the thief, and be should send her to the House of Cor-
rection,to be kept to bard labour for two months.

QUEEN-SQUARE

Hertaic Brandon, a native of Cracow, who had been examined at
this Office on various charges of swindling, was on Saturday finally
examined on an additional charge of swindling Mr. John Hutchin-
son, of W, Wellington street, Blackfriar's-road. During the inves-
tigation, which excited considerable interest, the Office was crowded
with respectable tradespeople, who had been duped under similar
circumstances by a foreigner, but they eould not swear to the iden-
tity of the prisoner, though there was a resemblance. He was
fully committed.