Star.
London, England, 1824-12-06 00:00:00

BOARD OF EXCISE.

Saturday, Mr. Thomas Williams, a tobacconist, in
Berdmondsey-street, Southwark, was charged with
having in his possession and vending tobacco mixed
with certain adulterous ingredients. Mr. Williams
pleaded not guilty.
Two purchases, one of two ounces, and another of
one ounce, were made by Gaytor, an Excise Officer,
and Mr. Douglas, an Excise Surveyor, and on being
analyzed by Mr. Hubert, was found to contain some
earthy matter, and a portion of some sort of bark of a
tree. Mr. Hubert produced two phials, one containing a
black liquid, prepared from real tobacco, and the other
a yellow liquid,, which had been obtained by the very
same process from the spurious article. The defence
was, that the Surveyor had asked for a very small sort,
and was sold what would have been considered refuse.
But the tobacco sold in this shop was in the same state
as it came from the wholesale warehouses, and they
dealt with so many, the defendant could not say from
which the article in question had been purchased.—
Fined 10/.

The Senate of Vienna is discussing the plan which
had been presented to it relatively to the establishment
of a Bank. The capita is fixed at present at five mil-
lions of florins, to be raised by shares of 500 florins each.
The fund is to be increased in the sequel to ten millions.
The Austrian Funds have just fallen in an extrao--
dinary manner ; the Metalliques are at 94 ; the mer-
chants are much alarmed at this in time of peace.
The letters received in Glasgow by the last oppor-
tunity from Jamaica, speak in very high terms of the
great attention which Vice•iAdmiral HALsreo pays to
the commercial interests on that important station.
The. gallant Admiral, on every occasion, evinces the
most anxious solicitude to protect their interests and
their property, and with his Majesty's ships under his
command, to give every facility to their commercial
interests. While it gives us sincere pleasure to add our
mite of praise to the merits of a deserving Officer, it at
the same time affords us particular satisfaction to find,
that his conduct is so fully and so highly appreciated
by those who are the most interested in the results, and
who have the best means of forming a judgment
thereon.—Glasgote Courier.
At a representation of the Chances, at Plymouth,
some years ago, when the present Mrs. COUTTS (then
Miss MELLON) performed the part of the second Con-
stantia, a young Michhipman was so enraptured with
her, that when she recited " Now, if any young fellow
would take a liking to me, and make an honest w °man
of me, I'd make him the be,t wife in the world," he
vociferously exclaimed, thrusting himself forward from
the front boxes, " I will, by (i—v, and I have half a
year's pay to receive next Friday."

NEW COM', OLD gAILEY-THIS DAY.

ATTEMPT TO DEFRAUD.
TVilliani Poole was indicted for attempting to de-
fraud Messrs. R. P. Pritchard And John Pearson, wereH
housemen, Nc. 27, King-street, Chespside, of certain
goods.
James Gray, clerk to the prosetutors, stated, that
Messrs. Lewis and Son, of Nu. 87, Oxford-street, were
tustomem of his employers. On the 61, Noveitiber, a
man named Styles brought a note addressed to the pro-
secutors, which, in their absence, he opened ; it appeared
to be an order from Messrs. Lewis and. Son, fur a piece
of black stuff at about 40s. andl a piece of bombazien
at • 1251. He delivered to Styles the goods in question.
but suspecting something wrong he followed him to his
lodgings, where he said the p: isoner was to wait for
him, but he was not there.
Mr. John Lewis, sen. was then called, and on being
shewn the letter he denied all knowledge of it, nor had
he authorised any person to obtain such goods.
William Styles stated, that on the 6th November, the
prisoner gave him the note to take to the prosecutor's
warehouse; he asked him where he lived and his name ?
but he replied that was of no consequence, for he would
call at witness's house for the goods. The prisoner
shortly after came, when an officer was sent for, and
he was apprehended. The goods wete sent back to the
prosecutor's house.
- The prisoner in his defence pleaded extreme distres.
The Jury, without hesitation, pronounced a verdict
of Guilty.
The prisoner, it appeared, had formerly been in good
circumstances, and dealt with the prosecutors for
about ten years, but failed in 1820, since which time he
had been mucb depressed.
Saturday, Bridger Lidbeller wa • indicted for receiving
the sum of £5O from Messrs. Crampin and Charles-
worth, for the purpose of recovering their sto:en goods.
The prosecutors had just commenced business as ware-
housemen, in Wood-street, when the sshole of-their pr.,•
perty was stolen, between the 26th and 27th October.
The prisoner, in conjunction w ith arlmon and Perry,
offered his assistance to procure the restoration of the
property, and received £3O on account.- The goods
were never obtained; and when Mr. Crampin applied
for the £3O hack, the prisoner made out a bill for ex-
penses, and £lO for his trouble. Mr. Crampin thinking
this an exorbitant charge, Went to ask the advice of the
Magistrate, who immediately summoned the prisoner
before film, and then committed him for trial, and bound
Crampin over to prosecute. On the part of the prisoner,
Salmon and Perry stated, that in their opinion the pri-
soner acted honestly throughout, and that the charge
made by him was moderate, considering his trouble.-
01any witnesses were called to his character, and after
a very able summing up by the COMMON SERJEANT,
the Jury retired for a quarter of an hour, and then re-
turned a verdict of Guilty, recommending him to mercy.
OLD COURT—SATURDAY.
John Clarke was indicted for setting fire to his dwel-
ling-house, with intent to defraud the County Fire-office;
a second count stated his intention to be to injure his
landlord ; and- a third, to injure his lodgers.
The trial occupied the Court from ten o'clock in the
morning until seven in the evening ; but as we have al-
ready detilled the particulars of the accusation, it will
not be necessary here to repeat more than an outline of
them. The most material witness for the prosecution
was a woman named Sophia Wood, who stated that
she lived within about 4.00 yards of the prisoner's house,
in Darrington-street, Coldbathfields. On the night of
the fire, shortly before eight o'clock, she was going, 'she
said, to the Cheshire Cheese public-house, which is op-
posite the prisoner's shop, for some beer; but before she
went into the public-house, her attention was attracted
to a bonnet in the window of Mrs. Pearson's shop, which
is next door to that of the prisoner. In crossing over
to look at it, she observed the prisoner, she said, come
out and look up and down the street. He then returned
into his shop, and she observed a sudden glare of light
in it. The next moment she beheld the prisoner lean
over the counter with a lighted piece of 'brown paper,
or something like it, in his hand, and the flames in-
stantly burst forth in that part of the shop, upon which
she called out "Firer and when she went home she
told Mr. Bird what she had seen. In addition to this
woman's testimony, it appeared that the prisoner gave
various contradictory accounts of the origin of the fire.
He told Mr. Acland, surveyor of the County Fire-office,
on the followng day, that he was alone in his shop when
the fire burst out from under the stairs with great via
lence, upon which he jumped over the counter, and the
shock was so great as to deprive him of his senses. He
told Mrs. Pearson the next evening, that he was standing
behind the counter reckoning some money, and a spark
from the candle must have dropped on the saltpetre,
which exploded and gave him a dreadful blow on the
side, and how he got out he could scarcely say. He
told a person named Lloyd, while at Mrs. Burgess's, on
the night of the fire, that a carboy of turpentine having
burst in the cellar, he went down with a candle in one
hand, and a canister of gunpowder in the other, and the
gunpowder blew up. And in a fortnight afterwards,
he told a neighbour of the name of Webster, that the
reason why he did not alarm his lodgers .was, because
an explosion took place which knocked him down, and
he was carried away by two Gentlemen, insensible.—
Besides this, two or three witnesses deposed as to the
scanty state of the stock in the shop immediately pre-
ceding the fire.
On the other hand, it appeared that Sophia Wood had
been living with another woman's husband, named Bird,
for the last four years, who had lately taken the benefit
of the Insolvent Act; that she had described herself as
his wife in her depositions at the Police-office; and that
she had not (except to Bird) stated to any one that she
had seen Clarke set his house OR fire, until after Mr.
Barber Beaumont had seen her several times on the sub-
ject ; bur, on the contrary, she said to another woman,
in reply to an observation of her's while looking at the
fire h om her own window, that " she did not think Mr.
Clarke the kind of person who would set his house on
fire," although she now denied having said any sods
thing. It further appeared, that a little girl, a customer,
was in the shop when the 11 umes, burst forth from that
part of it which was next the stairs, and a pers..n who
was passing by called out to the prisoner to save his
papers, upon which he leaned over the counter, and
wrenching his desk off, he ran over with it to the pubs
lic-house, and returned with the landlord and another
person. He entered the shop again to try to save some
of his stock ; but he presently afterwards staggered out
nearly in a elate of insensibility, and was taken over to
the public-house, where his forehead was batted in
vinegar, and his hands washed. One of his bands was
bleeding and swollen, and he continued insen,rule for
more than half an hour. Upon his recovery, his agi-
tation was so great as to affect his intellects, and he

hardly recovered his composure the follow;dg day,"
Hence the inconsistency in his accounts of the fire. -Be-
sides this, it was proved by several of the parties *corn
whom he purchased goods, and others who had been in
the shop either in the evening of, or immediately before
the fire, that he had considerably increased his stock
latteily, And that his shop was quite filed with goods&
lir had been lately in Meaty for the disposal rf the lease
and good-will 'Allis premises (in consequence of his had
health,) and he had been Offered more for them than
would, When added to the value of his Mock (which was
to be taken by the tenant at a valuation), exceed the
sum tut which he had been insured. Under such cif.-
curnstances, lie could have no interested motive fur cam-
mitting the CH mislaid to his Charge. tie received the very
best character from a host of respectable trades-people.
The .J.iry stopped the Learned Judge in his summing
up. and returned • verdict of tot Guilty.
Mr. Baton FIULLOCK directed that Mr. Clarke should
be discharged forthwith.