Star.
London, England, 1817-12-02 00:00:00

Mairstox-Horst.—Antses IN THE Pottcz.—Mr.
Sheriff Austutson, attended by Mr. BROWN, Keeper
of Newgate, appeared yesterday to state a complaint
of a very serious nature against a City Officer. The
Sheriff said, he felt much pain at being obliged to
prefer a charge against one of thrtity Police of a i
most nefarious description. If there appeared to the ,
Lord Mayor no ground for the accusation, of course
the character of the Officer could not at all be af-
fected ; at the same time that the acknowledged fre-
quency of the practite to which he alluded would'
justify the Sheriff in bringing forward a case, which,
if proved, would exhibit a most disgraceful custom.
The only authority he had to go upon in the present
charge was the mere declaration of a convict under
sentence of transportation in Newgate, who stated,
that the Officer who apprehended her had deprived
her of every thing she was worth in the world, in
conformity with the custom of stripping prisoners,
which had existed a long time, and been abused most
shamefully. The Sheriff added, that ever since he
had come into office, his mind had been directed to
this subject, having learned from a source the cor-
rectness of which he had no reason to question, that
there were nearly a hundred cases of a similar kind,
in which Police Officers of almost every district were
accusal of being concerned. The Lord Mayor would
see the necessity of opposing a check to the practice
which rubbed the wretched prisoners in some instan-
ces, and the Sheriffs in others ; it being established
by law, that in cases of conviction, such property as
he had described should be handed over to the She.
riffs as a forfeiture, and that to the acquitted a resto-
ration of their goods should be made upon the esta-
blishment of their innocence. Tnere was ground
for supposing that a system of illegal appropriation
existed with respect to the property of persons in
both situations ; and as the best way to commence an
effectual check would be to select a case for investi-
gation, he had accordingly done so front the very
large list with which he had been furnished.
- -

The LORD MAYOR approved highly of the zeal of
the Sheriff in circumstances of such deep interest to
the public, and ordered that the Olcer accused
should attend and answer to the charge.
Mr. &tows read from the above.named list the
names of óe prisoner and the Officer. We suppress
the name of the Officer until a general investigation
shall have taken place. That of the convict is Sarah
Margaret Austen. She is now in Newgate, and has
returned an account of duplicates of clothes, ice. to
a small amount, comprising, however, almost the
whole of her covering, and 4s. 6d. in silver, which
she declared were taken from her by the Officer, and
of which it was found, upon inquiry, no return had
been made at the Old B.►ilgy.
The Officer, on being called upon by the Loan
MAYOR, said, the prisoner aho had thus complained
of him had robbed a seijeatit of 450 or £5O, and
had not so much silver in ha pocket upon being ap-
prehended, as that sum, there being actually no more
than 2s. 6J. with the duplicates. He had redeemed
i the articles for 17s. but not being able to dispose of
them to advantage any a here else, he sequined them
pawnbtoker, who gave him a guinea for them.
The Lotto Mayon asked what he had done with
the money to which he was not entitled by law ?
He replied that he had been at the expense of pro-
secuting the owner, the poor serjeatit not having had
it in his power to do so, and that he was authorized
by one who was qoalified to issue orders in such a
case, to keep the ptolits of the search as a recom-
pense for his trouLle.
The Loan MAYOR said it was impossible that such
conduct, upon the part of the Officer, could have'
been authorized cr countenanced by the person allu-
ded to, who, instead of advising so nefarious a prac-
t:ce, had uniformly acted with the greate►thumanity.
The Suattire desired to be informed by the Offices,
whether his expenses had not been paid by the Court
as soon as the prosecution ended? This was instantly
admitted.

66 How, then, (said the Loan Alma') could you
think of committing a robbery opcfn a poor wretch,
who, criminal AS she war, would receive sufficient
punishment from the law? Did you suppose her so
vicious that in addition to her transportation she
should be stripped naked ?"
The Officer agaiu stated that be had acted upon
authority.
The Long Mum ...44 Even if you had acted ac.

carding to directions, you acted without authority,
for no man, however exalted his situation may be,
can authorize such an act of barbarity. I shall write
to the person you have named, and my future pro-
ceeding against you shall, in a great measure, be in•
fluenced by his answer, which, I assure you I can
very well anticipate; tar, whatever diderence of opi•
won may exist between bint and me upon other sub-
jects, on that of humanity we perfectly agree. 1
now suspend you, and shall communitate toe circum-
stances to the Court of Aldermen."

The OlL:er expressed much regret at having done
any thing improper. It arose, he said, from crave;
and he hoped it would be forgiven.
The only answer the Lerd Mayor gale was one
expressive of indignAtion.
rite SHIMMY returned thanks to his Lordship for
the readiness with which he had investigated the case,
and said, he was now confirmed in the opinion which
he entertained of the necessity et inquiry.
The LOUD MAYOIt said, the inquiry would pro-
duce the very best consequences. The credit of the
City bad suffered materially frum the conduct of the
Police Officers. And what did the House of Com.
MOM say upon the subject: Why, that the
trate' of the City should look to them. He had,

when he was Shiriff, seen that the Officers received
sometimes 20s. a man per day durics the trials, nod
he now rejoiced that the unworthy practices, troy
which such payment did oct exempt them, wo..::1
soon be at an end.

bir.l3Auwrs slid, he had established a book in New-
gate, in which the property taken from persons lodg-
ed in the prison should be registered, ar.J another in
the Sessions-house, which should be revised and cur-
rected daily, so that the Sheriff and acquitted pri-
soners would find no difficulty in obtaining what they
were entitled to. The adoption of books of the same
kind at the Yoliice•Offices would, he suggested, be
eipedient, and in that opinina several of the Magis.
trates bad ordered them. There are seems' cases
now under investigation, in which 'the property of

Anna; to the amount of weed hundreds,
I. -cured to be wholly unaccounted for.
Tan Friza.—Mr. Teague, of the Compter, stated
to the Lord Mayor, that three or four persons were
sow in that prison in a very alarming state of fewer..
He had admitted them to prevent their perishing in
the streets, but their continuance where infection
would be so terrible, was, be apprehended, highly
dangerous. The Lotto MAP:Mt ordered that the dis-
eased persons should be immediately sent to the Fei
per Hospital, where a letter of recommendation was,
be observed, unnecessary. although the finances were
so scanty. He here took occasion to express his sur-
prise at the very impolitic refusal of the Court of
Common Council to subscribe the paltry sum of 4150
towards the support of an Institution, which was un-
fortunately becoming more and more necessary every
day; and intimated that he expected the next appli-
cation upon the same subject would be received with
less regard to form, and more to the consequences
likely to arise from starving a contagions fever.
UNioN•HALL—DAKING AtiSAULT AND ATTEMPT TO
STEAL MEAD nonirs.—Yesterday Mr. Watmore, the
vestry-clerk of Lambeth, and several of the Parish
Officers, attended before the Magistrate, Mr. CrlAM-
jmns, to prefer a charge against two men, named
Thaw Dein and Juba Martha!!, under the follow-
ing circumstances s—lt appeared that the burial-
poised of Lambeth has for a considerable time past
been the scene of transactions of the most daring and
horrid description. The depositories of the dead
have been nightly invaded, and the feelings of sur
viving relatives exceedingly harrowed, by the depre-
dations upon their deceased friends of that callous
gang of watches known by the name of Body
Soatchers, whose industry in their disgusting trade
bas been particularly exercised in the new burial-
ground at Lambeth. The parish-officers have been
frequently called upon by the inhabitants to adopt
some effectual atrangements for the discontintiaNco
Of those nefarious practices. In compliance with the
general wish, they ordered Mr. John Seager, the sex-
ton, to procure some persons to keep a nightly watch;
he accordingly hired two men fur that purpose, and
instructed them to be vie,ilant is their dory ; still the
ground was tubbed; scarcely a night passed without
a body being stolen, and yet the offenders were not
di:covered. Mr. Beaker at last determined to watch
in person, attended by his :On and a young man
!aimed John Sharp. On Sunday night they conceal-1
ed themselves in a convenient part of the burial-
ground, and about ten o'clock observed two men i
passing over the graves. They first proceeded to
that part of the ground where there were two man- i
traps set, which they let offs• they then proceeded to
the hone-house, broke it open and provided them•
selves with spades, and immediately afterwards com-
menced their operations upon a grave wherein a body
'bad been deposited the preceding day. Mr. Seager
'continued to watch their proceedings ; they dug till
their spades struck a coffin. Mr. Seager then came
from Lis concealment, and called out to three men
to desist and surrender themselves; he then disco-
vered, to his great astonishment, that they were the
identical persons whom he had hired and paid to pro-
tect the ground. Marshall sprung from the grave,
and with dreadful impretations swore that he would
murder Mr. Seeger, and at the same time made a
desperate blow at bins with a spade and knocked him
down ; he was about repeating the blow. when Mr.
Settget's son flew to the protection of his father, fired
a pistol at Marshall, and wounded him in the left
arm ;he then thought proper to surrender. In. the
mean time the prisoner boffin attacked John Sharp
with a drawn sabre, and cut him dangerously in the
forehead. Sharp had armed himself with a poker,
with which he maintained a conflict of several mi-
nutes, and at last brought his adversary to the ground;
they conveyed their prisoners to the watcii-Kruse,
when they discovered they were both very much
wounded ; a Surgeon dressed their woonds. ,They
continued in the watch-house all night, and in the
morning were conducted before the Magistrate. The
prisoners were separately asked for their defence.—
Marshall said they suspected the G' Resurrection Men"
had been in the yard, and stolen the body, because
they found the man-traps onset, and they agreed to
dig to see if the coffin and body were safe, but had
no intention of stealing the body. Marshall being
taken to the lock-up room, the Magistrate (Mr.
Co/sums) asked Duffin if he had any thing to say ?
He said lie was not in the grave at all, nor did he
or Marshall dig the grave, or attempt to ste.tl the
body. The Magistrate ordered the prisoners to be
remanded for final examination on Monday next.
Maittaotiovou-svaraer.—Yesterday J. Wilson was
remanded, charged with obtaining fraudulent posses.
elan of a horse, the property of Lord Coleraine.
Woatine-rrexer.--Yesterclay J. Aka was charged
with robbing Igoe Johnson.—The prosacutrix stated,
that she lived in a small house, in Cooper's-gardens;
Hackney.road. On Saturday night, about nine
o'clock, she went to bed ; no person was in the house
but herself. About twelve o'clock she was alarmed
by a noise, and two men burst open her door. The
prisoner was one of them ; he said he would have
her money or her life ; his companion seized and
held her in the bed. The prisoner then went into
another room, and returned in half an hour with a
knife in his hand, and said--,4 We have nut got all
your money ; where is it kept ?" She said she bad
no money but what she supposed they had already
got. lie then put the knife to her throat, with one
nand, and grasped her till she was nearly throttled ;
his companion had great difficulty in dissuading him
from taking hes lite. Next morning she found an
aperture sufficiently wide to admit two men, broken
through the brick work, at the back of the bonsai--
They stole from her some crown pieces, silver spoons,
and a metal watch, the latter of which was found on
the prisoLer.—He was fully committed.

Friday right :he neighbourhood of Lambeth was
visited by robbers, who committed depredatiois to
an t:cusual extent. An empty house in Gray'a-walk
was broken open, and seventy pines of glass stolen.
The house of Mr. Savage, in the same walk, was
broken open, and a large quantity of linen stolen.—
From the house of Mr. Burry, cabinet-maker. a num-
ber of Venetian blinds were stolen.—The houses of
Mr. Burgess and Mr. Kemble, in Lambeth-walk ;
Mr. With, Mr. W.lll, Mr. Dtkill6oll. and Mr. Phipps,
rof Union-street I. and Mr. Wright, of East-street,
Lambeth. had a variety of articles stolen from each.
The property lust and de6troyed by means of thieves
ua Pltida; n et, is Oitianttli at exo.