Star.
London, England, 1826-12-26 00:00:00

ROYAL SOME CY.

At eieMeeng on Ft Way even Ing,his Royal Highness the CROW,
PILINCt of ::strznaw was proposed as a Member, ballotted for, and
elected into the &wkly.
A paper was road by the Rev. W. Riveitte, nn a new diffe•red..
tial thermometer. This consists of two air-tigh• tin cy i• d rs, in-
stead of bulbs, connected by a bent tube. containing cull:Harr •Iquid.
The ends of the cylinders m y he coated with various substances
for trying their radiating and observing powers. A series of expe-
riments was subjoined, the only novelty of which, consisted in the
establishment of the law that radiant heat acts inversely as the
square of the distance.—The Society adjourned to the lith of Jan.
K 1/•I(Z ES.

Joseph Woodhead stood capitally indicted for bnr.
gloriously breaking into tl-e duelling-house of John
Leach Bennett, Esq. situate in the parish of Wim-
bledon, on the morning of the 26:h of August.
Tire prosecutor is a Gentleman 4t Mer ton, in Surrey.
On the night before the robbery, the family retired to
bed. About hall past three in the morning, however,
he was awoke by the tinging of an alarum hell. He
rose from his Is-d, took up a fowling-piece in his room,
and on opening the window, saw two men crossing the
lawn, whom he fired at. The piece was loaded with
buck shot, and a common charge of powder. The
robbers, at the time he fired, mig!it be from fifteen to
twenty yards distance. Prosecutor went down stairs,
raised an alarm, and discovered that the shutters of tl-e
kitchen had been forced by means of a centre-bit, and
the pannel completely broken. Oo examining the pre-
mises, a watch belonging to his cook was missing, also
two table-cl.ahs, his property, and several artic es of
linen were on the dresser. At day-light, on proceeding
across the lawn, the footsteps by which the robbers
escaped, were traced to a hedge that divides the prose-
cutor's premises, and there was found a dark lantern.
William Herring, a tinman, in Dacre•street, West.
mirister, had known the prisoner for five or six years, and
often done jobs for him. About three weeks previous
to the prisoner being examined before the M Tistrates
at Queen-square Office, he came to his shot, to have his
lantern repaired and soldered, which he identified as the
same found on the lawn. Witness's wife confirmed this
evidence, adding, that he recollected the prisoner corn-
ing for the lantern, to whom she gave it, and he paid
her threepence.
The prisoner was apprehended on the 28th of August,
on a warrant for threatening the life of Sophia Sur gey, a
witness who gave evidence against an intimate acquaint.
ance of the prisoner's at the last Assizes at Guilford. for
which offence he was committed toTothill- fields prison.
Two or three days after his confinement, being un well, he
was attended by Mr. Lavies, the surgeon, and, on exami-
nation, found three wounds in his beck ; tw r were grazed
and the other a lateral wound, about an inch and a half,
running downwards from the left shoulder towards the
spine; they had previously been dressed. He had probed
the deep wound, but could find no shot. The prisoner
told him he had been accidentally shot by a Gentleman
while shooting in a field, in consequence of his crossing
it. Oa this being mentioned to the officer, he pro-
cured It's waistcoat, which contained three soot-holes.
He, with another officer, ascertained that two men had
been shot at in committing a burglary, at Merton, in
Surrey. Oo Pople askingliim how the shot hole, and
stains of blood came on his waistcoat ? the prisoner
said he had done it himself s sm.:time since; also that
the waistcoat was made for him while confined in
Horsemonger-lane gaol. •
Joseph Cooper stated, on the prisoner being brought
from the watcbhouse on the 29th of August, he noticed
him lame in his left arm, and he seemed in great agony.
After his examination before the Magistrate, witness
asked him what was the matter? hen-he said he got Lis
arm hurt by a fall. On questio:ing how long it had
been done? he replied on Sunday morning. In a few
day; after a dark lantern was handed to him, on ex-
aminibg which he found it had been recently mended;
and alter a diligent inquiry, ascertained that Mr.
Herring had repaired it for the prisoner, whom he
knew for several years as the butcher's boy.
Mary Short lives servant to the prosecutor. She was
mused from her sleep, soon alter three o'clock on the
morning of the robbery, by the ring•ng of the alarum-
bell. She went down stairs with her master, and from
the kitchen missed her watch, which had been taken out
of the dresser-drawer, where she saw it at six o'clock the
evening before. A variety of other things were re-
moved from the drawer and laid no the dresser.
The Jury pronounced the prisoner Guilty—Death.
The sentence was then recorded, and an intimation given to the
prisoner that he must expect to leave this country.

Colonel DALTON, of Homingfot d Hall, Yorkshire, at
his rent day, at Summer Castle, last week, returned 20 Fee Cent.
to all the tenants ou his property.
The Now York packet ship Canada, Captain Rogers,
was seized by the officers of the Customs at Live:pool,
in consequence of the discovery on last Wednesday
seinnight, the 13th inst. that 10 hogsheads, purporting
to be filled with Quercitroil bark, which had been landed
from that vessel, contained a quantity of tobacco and
snuff. Jeremiah Platt,. the consignee of the h gsheads
in question wai taken into custody on the 'Chins'. and
detained, under a special clause in the Act of Parlia-
ment, "in order to give time for pri paring the infor•
mations against him." The case having, in the mean
time, been reported to the Board of Customs :n London,
lorders a ere sent down to pros. ed against tt e defendant,
upon an information forwarded from the Custom-house
in London. Accordingly, on Friday, Mr. Platt was
plated at the bar in the Town Hall, and the k formation
charging him with illegally unshipping and landing, or
causing to be unship,ied and landed, certain tobacco
and snuff, from the American ship called the Canada,
having been read, the investigation proceeded, and
terminated in the Magistrates convicting the defendant
in the penalty of 1001.

The schooner Finny Voase, to which we alluded in
our news from Portugal last week, is n.)w at Dover.
The Master states, that he was lying off Oporto a fort.
night after the rebel force entered the counts y. Reports
were vague; but no sooner ee as Braganca pillaged, and
Oporto threatened, than he prepared to put to see with-
out his cargo. Several British residents availed them-
selves of the opportunity, and hastily took their
tote with him. The name of the 13i skip mem:l4l.c
whom tl.e Courier states to have stiff red.so much, is,
he sap, Adeworth, and he is a brotlitr of General
Ashworth. The Master represents the lower older:
at Oporto, as we fear they are in Lisbon and
other towns, unfavourable to the establi.hed Govern-
ment, which they attribute to the British, whom the
priests represent as destroyers of their religi 'n. This
kind of influence is certain of success, ul.on minds so
indisposed to think and unable to judge for them-
selves as the commonality of Portugal. Just before
the schooner sailed, a report came rom 13raganza( f
the determination of the rebels to 11141 Th upon Oporto,
and, upon arriving, to destroy every pipe of wine
of British property.

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