Star.
London, England, 1810-04-21 00:00:00

POLICE, &c.

On Thursday evening Aaron Alexander was char-
ged at Bow-street, on suspicion of setting fire to his
house, in Little Queen-street, Lincoln's Idn-fields.
John Austcy, the landlord of the house in which
the prisoner resided, let the shop to him and his part-
ner, at nine shillings a week. The witness occupied
the first floor. About one o'clock on Tuesday morn-
ing he was alarmed by a watchman knocking at his
bed room door, and calling fire." He got up,
and with all possible speed ran down stairs, when lie
observed tile partition, which divides the shop and
the passage from the stairs, to be in flames. He took
a large piece of flannel, and endeavoured to smother
the fi:tmes with it, and, being assisted by a Mr. Lee,
who lodged h his garret, they succeeded in getting
the fire out before the engines arrived. When he
first got down stairs, the shop and street door were
both open ; the prisoner, who slept in the sill.), was
not there, but while he was exerting himself in ex-
tinguishing the flames, he came in and said that the
fire was occasioned by his leaving a candle burning
upon the top of his bureau bedstead to light his part-
ner when he should come home, and that the heat of
the candle had drawn down some of' the things that
were hanging up in the shop and had set them on fire.
When the prisoner first came in to him his coat was
b etoned up close to his neck, but he had no neck-
cleth en ; he had his hat on, and his boots, but could
not tell whether he had his breeches on or not.
.h.fin Thomas Barber, one of the Directors belong-
ing to the County Fire Office, said, that an insurance
was made at their office, ahem ten days since, in the
names of Aaron Alexander and Samuel Simmons, of
Little Queen-street, in the sum of £5O on the house-
hold furniture, and A'23o on the stock in trade. The
insurance was made by Simmons in their joint names.
On Wednesday a claim was made at their office. by
Simmons, for A'BB. 13s. 61 in consequence of which
he sent Francis Lye, a clerk belonging to their office,
for the purpose of inspecting the damage ; and from
his report of the state of the premises he went him-
sllf, and saw that the partition had been burnt
through, and a hole about the size of the crown of a
hat, and a shelf had also been burnt through ; and
in the inside of the partition there were marks of
tallow or grease running down, and the partition,
which is about eieliteen inches in width, was smeared
on each side of the hole which the candle had made.
The prisoner observed to him, that about half an
hour before the alarm of fire, he went to bed, having
first extinguished his fire very carefully, and that he
-placed the candle on the head of his bedstead, about
three feet from where the partition took fire. On his
discovering the house to be on fire, berm out into the
street in his shirt, and desired the watchman to call
the people who lived up stairs. The witness observed
bat very few fragments of burnt rags. The furniture
did not appear to be worth £3, and the stock in trade
very trifling, and probably not worth £2O. The
quantity of goods for which the claim was made
could not have been placed upon the shelves where
the fire began, ncr could they have been burnt in so
el:eit a time without some remains of them appear-
ing. prisoner admitted that he had signed the
da7m made upon the office.
Jce.eph Eastree, one of the Firemen belonging to
the County Office, said, he went to Little Queen-
street, on Tuesday morning, in consequence of an
alarm of fire, where he got-about half past two o'clock.
That he found the prisoner in bed in a bureau bed-
ste:. d in the shop, the fire being then completely out ;
evefy body in the house, he believed, was then in
bed. He knocked at the street-door, for some time,

ton-pursued and secured him and he secured Solo-
mons, and, as he was leading him alongb he picked
up a pocket-book, which, he had no doubt, Solomons
dropped, as it fell at his feet. On searchinft him, he
found four £1 Bank of England notes in his fob
pocket, and in his breeches pocket seven dollars,
which he said was all the money he had about him ;
but, on searching his right-hand coat pocket, another
£1 note was found. The prisoner Joseph refused to'
submit to be searched by Preston, but at last agreed
that he should search him ; and the Patrole perceiv-
ing him put something into his mouth, searched him
very closely, when he found a £3O Bank-note, a L€ 4,
and two Jel notes, betweet his shirt and his neck,
which he said were his own. In the pocket-book
which he picked up, he found a banker's check for
R 56, and two lottery shares.
Mr.• Ross, who resides in Marchmont-place, Rus-
sell-square, confirmed the above ; and said, he saw
Solomons drop a pocket-book, which Was picked up
by Vickery.
Preston confirmed Vickery's statement.
Mr. Dodd, the prosecutor, said, that about half-
past two o'clock, on Tuesday, he was in New Palace-
yard, at the Westminster Meeting, and, in a few
minutes after the people began to disperse, he missed
his pocket-book, and identified the one picked up by
Vickery, and dropped by Solonicns ; also the Bank-
notes and check found upon them, to be the same
that were in his book.
The prisoners were fully committed for trial.
The woman who we stated a few days since was
held to bail to keep the peace towards Mr. W
M. P. for annoying him as he went in and out of the
House of Commons, and at his own house, in conse-
quence of her having had a child by him, and she
alledging that he owed her £lOO for bringing it up,
has not attended to the recognizance she had entered
into, but has since pursued the same course, and has
beset Mr. W. and called after him opprobrious names,
saying he had cheated her out of £lOO, in consequence
of which she was taken into custody again by Laven-
der, and brought before Mr. Natty, who ordered her
to find bail, and she was taken to the Brown Bear
public-house, and while sitting in the parlour; in an
act of desperation stabbed herself with a peH-knife.
Mr. Cole, a surgeon, attended, who said that the
knife had entered just above her navel, but it having
gone in a slanting direction, the wound would not
prove fatal. She was accordingly conveyed to To-
thill-fields Bridewell, for want of bail.
On Thursday night, as a young gentleman, named
Harrison, from the country, was going along New-
gate-street, he was hustled and robbed of his book,
containing bills of exchange to a large amount, and
Jen in Bank-notes.
On Tuesday evening a woman, who lodged in a
house in Little Chesterfield-street, St. Mary-la-bonne,
having been repeatedly teazed by her landlord for .1--
rears of rent, and being displeased at his troiii..targ
her, resolving to be revenged, got some gun-p.,.vder,
and set fire to it in her room ; but the explosion was
greater than she expected, for it blew the window
completely out, and she was scorched in a dreadful
manner, and carried to the Middlesex Hospital.
On Monday sc'nnight the Midshipman of the Im-
press, a letter-carrier, a barber, and a retail dealer,
were enjoying themselves at dice, in a public-house,
in Dundee, when the barber and midshipman guar-
: relied about twopence. They at first proceeded tc,
settle the point by pugilistic exertion ; but the barber
finding himself worsted, secretly drew his razor, and
made an incision along the back part of the midship-
, man's head, and down to his neck, which, however,
' had no other serious consequence than a plentiful ef-
fusion of blood.

before he could gain admittance. He proceeded to
i -in inquest held, yesterday, at the Red Lion,
appeared to be very little damage done, not, in the
examine the ptemises that had been nn fire, and there
in Clarges-street, by A. GELL, Esq. on the body of
Mr. Blore, -a master-builder, who died on Thursday,
wl:cile, am:tinting to more than e 2. The wainscot
was burnt through, and a few remnants only appear-
in a fit of laughing, in Dover-street. Verdict—Died
ed ; there was no furniture, except a bed and a table. by the Visitation of GOD.
He only observed one chair, and that was in another Yesterday an alarm of fire prevailed in Vine-street,
part of the shop. He asked the prisoner in what Lambeth, occasioned by a large copper of varnish/
Office he was insured ? He replied, in the County. boiling over in one of the outhouses belonging to Mr.
Ile told the prisoner he belonged to the County- Carter. The outhouse was destroyed in a short time,
Office ; upon which, he asked him how he was to ma- and much apprehension was entertained for the safety
naeo about making out his estimate ? and said he of several wood tenements which stood at a short dis-
would give the witness a guinea, if he would assist stance from the flames, but fortunately the damage
him in making it out, and speak in his behalf at the did not extend further than the destruction of the out,.
Office. He observed one bottle on the floor, and the house.
prisoner told him he used it as a candlestick, and had Last night, at nine o'clock, an alarming fire broke
used the smear, or mark of tallow, which was above out at Lilley and Andersons', breeches-makers, South
the place where the candle was, and there were drains Audley-street, which consumed the whole of the up-
where it had ran down from the candle. He scraped per part of the house before any water could be pro-
some of the tallow off the wainscot, with his thumb, cured. The fire was first perceived to proceed from
and shelved it to the prisoner, who said it was turpen- the second floor, and burst forth with such violence
tine, but he thought it was tallow, as to terrify all the adjoining neighbours ; there was 1
John Lanc y, the watchman, who gave the alarm, no person in the house when the fire broke out, the
said, he was calling the hoar, in Little Queen-street, stneet and parlour doors were forced open with a
on Monday night, when he smelt something burning, sledge hammer, and great part of the property was
and thought it was at No. 41. He knocked at the saved. Mr. Sweet's, grocer, next door, was on fire
d.arr, and immediately the prisoner ran out of the two or three different times, but through the exertions
shop, with only his shirt on ; he appeared very much of the firemen was got under.
alarmed. He told him to go and call the people up Yesterday evening a fire broke out at the house of
stairs. He %vent into the house ; the partition was a salesman in Houndsditch, which consumed the same
tl‘en burning through, and there were some shelves on and damaged some others.
tire, and he thought there were some books upon The following was sent to Mrs. Richardson, of
tlient, which were burning. 1-k then went up stairs
Manchester, by the Rev. W Silvester, of Sandbach,
aad called the people, and afterwards went and called Cheshire :.
:in engine ;
The prisoner was committed for further examination. the case of the child I was mentioning to you ; the
As the prisoner was conveying to the Office, circumstances are as follow : In April last, a child
he gave Lavender a violent blow on the head, and belonging to James and Elizabeth Yates, of Brook-
eti,l'...ivoured to make his escape ; but Lavender i house-Green, near Congleton, was taken exceedingly
knocked him down, and dragged him to the Office ' ill, owing to the cutting of its teeth. Such was the
on his back, effect of the disorder, that from a very fine healthy
J. Joel and 1. Solomon: were charged with picking boy about 11 months old, he was reduced to a skele-
ton and entirely taken off his feet ; he had several con-
the pocket of Mr. Dodd, of Eltham, of Bank-notes
to a considerable amount, at the Westrninter Meet- vulsion fits, and his death was hourly expected. They
ing on Tuesday. sent for a surgeon, who lanced his gums, but without
Vickery, one of the Officers belonging to Worship- i any good effect. They then applied for the ANEW-
'
I
street, said, that en Tuesday last, as he was attend-
CAN SOOTHING SYRUP; a friend gave them half a
inc., at the Westminster Meeting, iti New Palace-yard , bottle ;on the first application of which the child
he .saw the prisoners come out together from among had immediate ease, and before the whole was used
. he was perfectly restored."—The parents have since
the crowd, and go into the hall, upon which he called
declared to the above Gentleman, that it was their
Preston, one of the patrole belonging to the above
them to be : firm belief this medicine was the means, in the hand
Office, to go with him, well knowing
pickpockets ; when they got to the door of the hall, ,of GOD) of saving their child's life.—To be had of
: the Proprietors, J. Johnson and Co. No. 94, Newman-
he saw the prisoner Joseph, with a number of Bank-
notes in his hand, as it in the act of counting them ;
. streetiaill ; Mrs. Richardson, Manchester; and by all, Oxford-street ; and retail of Golding, No. 42,
the prisoner Solomons was close to him; he went up Corn
to them, when the prisoner Joseph, on seeing him, the principal Medicine Venders in town and counsry,
at 2s. 9d. a bottle, for ready money.
ran away with the Bank notes in his hand, ad Pres-

1,