Star.
London, England, 1820-10-02 00:00:00

OLD BAILEY.

Saturday, W. Batterion was indicted for stealing
a large quantity of books and papers, the property
of the Overseers and Guardians of the Poor of the
Parish of Mary-la-Bonne. The prisoner was a pauper
in the workhouse, aged 75. The papers and books
in question related to,Pirish accounts, and other do-
cuments of use and value. They were placed in a
sort of loft over a passage; great quantities of them
were missed, and it was discovered that some of the
paupers, and among the rest the prisoner, were in the
habit of stealing them, and selling them to neigh-
bouring cheesemongers, &c. One of these proved
that he purchased a quantity of the books in question
from the prisoner, at -the rate of 4d. per pound.—
Verdict, Guilty.
Mr. ADOLPHUS, who had prosecuted for the Parish,
said, that the prisoner, he was instructed to say, had
up to this period been a respectable man ; and that,
this prosecution had only been instituted, in order to
pat a stop to this-evil (which had of late years ex-
tended eveh to every one of the Government esta-
blishments), and not from any vindictive motives.
J. Day was also indicted for stealing a large quan-
tity cf this paper, and was also found Guilty.
Camplin was indicted for receiving the same,
knowing it to have been stolen; but the proof rather
being that he stole himself part of the property, he
was of course acquitted-of receiving. It was impos-
sible to say how much had actually been stolen, but
upwards of scwt. of the Parish books and papers had
been recovered.

J. Woolf*, S. Wherry, and D. Edwards, were in-
dicted for stealing part of archais and seals, the pro-
perty of J. Teesdale, from his person.
The prosecutor was passing the end of Portland-
road, at the time the procession of the Glass-blowers
was going along the New-road to White Conduit
House, when a man struck him a severe blow in.the
neck, and snatched at his seals - the chain broke, and
the man turned round to Wherry and Edwards, and
appeared in an attitude as if giving them the seals
and a part of his chain. Teesdale seized the fellow
who had robbed him by the collar, and called for
help; but he was instantly attacked by &numerous
gang of ruffians, who pelted hint with stones, knocked
him down, and rescued the wan who had robbed
him. This was between twelve and one o'clock in
the afternoon; and he continued to follow the pro-
cession, about which the prisoners and their gang
continued to hover. He had another struggle with
the man, in which he was again unsuccessful, and
was once more severely ill-treated. He still, how-
ever, continued to follow them, and when they got
near the top of Pentonville-hill he found several con•
stables, to whom he made known his loss. The
gang seeing him in conversation with the officers
began to run in different directions, but Wherry and
Edwards being pursued and taken, the gang mus.
tered in forte, and attacked the officers and the pro-
secutor most violently. At this time Woolfe was
behind the prosecutor, who felt some one trying to
get at his pocket-book, and, on looking round, he
saw some newspapers, which he had in his coat-
pocket, lying at Wooie's feet. He was then taken
also; and in spite of all the efforts of the gang to
rescue their companions, the officers succeeded in'
getting their prisoners into a public-house, which
the gang threatened to pull down if their companions
were not liberated. They were at last conveyed to
the watch-house. _ _

The COMMON SERJEANT summed,up the evidence,
and the Jury, without hesitation, returned a verdict 1
of Guilty against all the prisoners.
The COMMON Sena EANT immediately ordered them'
up for judgment. He regretted, that in the hurry of
the Office the indictment had not been capitally laid
for a highway robbery ; for if they had, the Jury
must have convicted them on the same evidence, and
he (the Common Serjeant) must have recommended
them to the Kiag in Council as fit subjects to suffer
the utmost punishment of the law. As it was, the
Court never heard of a more daring and atrocious
offence, committed in a most public road at mid-
day; and therefore he sentenced them all to tran-
sportation for life.

A few weeks ago, a dreadful accident occurred in
Smedley-hall, near Manchester, where a servant-
woman, by the imprudence of reading by candles
light in bed, set fire to the furniture, and was so
dreadfully burned, that she lingered in the most
dreadful agonies, her whole body and limbs (the
head and neck only having escaped) being tourned
rotten, till Munday last, when she expired.
-A very estraordinary accident occurred on 'Wed-
nesday morning at Spitalfields-market. Asa large
waggon, containing a chaldron of coals, and drawn
by tour beautiful fine horse', the property of Mr.
Barr, coal-merchant, in Westmlisster,- was unload-
ingip a coal-abed, the waggon, by some unforeseen
means, overturned, and killed the shaft horse, worth
forty guineas, on the spot, and likewiie crushed a
fine dog, that was lying on the foot-way, to death,
land one of the men had a'very sant* escape.