The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1835-07-07 00:00:00

LIVEIiPOOL POLICE.

FRlDAY.—(Before the MAYOR and Sir THOMAS BRA NCKER.)
OVERCHARGE AND FURIOUS DRIVING: CAUTION TO Mtn,-
ERs.—A you'll: gentleman, named Foote, summoned a driver
of one of Mr. Davis's cars for overcharge. The complainant
stated, that he had hired the car in Clayton-square, and defend-
ant had driven him down to the Clarence Dock, where he was
to embark by the steam-boat for Glasgow. When he was set
dcwu the driver demanded six shillings as his fare ; but; upon
Mr. Foote objecting to this, he agreed to take five shillings.
Mr. Foote still complained of overcharge, but, taking a quantity
of silver from his pocket, he told the driver to take the proper
fare from it. The defendant took fas., and hugged himself on
his security, not dreaming that Mr. Foote intended to return to
Liverpool immediately. The latter, however, on his arrival,
very properly summoned the driver before the magistrates, who
ordered him to return the overcharge, and to pay a fine of ss.
and costs.—Mr. Thornely. car-proprietor, was summoned, on
,information from Police-officer Lloyd, for driving his car fu-
riously along Dale-street, on the afternoon of Monday last.
Lloyd stated that the horse was galloping' so swiftly as to have
created much apprehension of danger among the passengers in
that crowded thoroughfare. Mr. fhornely alleged, that the
horse alluded to was of such high mettle that he could not use
a whip to him, and that if he heard another horse in his rear he
could not be restrained. On the day in question the animal had
been startled and darted off, when, the leathern curb which he
used having unfortunately broken, it was with much difficulty
that he regained command over him. Sir T. Brancker said
such an excuse would have been hut a poor consolation to any
.party who might be injured by contact with the horse and ve-
hicle during its rapid pace. lie had nu right to make use of
such an animal; if he had run over a child in his career, the
apology of his horse being vicious would not have sufficed. Mr.
Ellis remarked, that, in case of such an accident, the defendant
would have been pronounced guilty of manslaughter. Sir
'lhoinas Brancker fined the defendant ss. and costs.
SATURDAY.—(Before the Matron and Sir T. BRANCKER.)
FELONY.—Two prisoners,'a boy about 14 years old and a girl
about 12, named John Campbell and B trb;iry Leary, were on
Saturday placed at the bar, on a charge of felony. William
Wood, a blacksmith, stated, that he had risen that morning at
five o'clock; he bad .passed through the front door of his house
and locked it after bins. lie then opened the front window and
put the key inside for his wife, closing the sash after hint.
Charlotte Wood, his wife, deposed, that she got up at half-past
Live, and, upon going down stairs, she was alarmed at seeing
the parlour window open. She immediately suspected that
thieves had been in the house. On examination her fears proved
to be tots well founded, for she found that a quantity of wearing
apparel, blankets, &c. had been stolen from the kitchen, where
she had left them the previous evening. Joseph Evans, fore-
, man with Mr. Gregory, pawnbroker. Jamaica-street, proved
that the lemile prisoner had pawned two of the shirts with hint
'that morning at half-past seven o'clock. Henry Morley, the
police-officer, who had taken Campbell into-custody, produced
the remaining shirt, which had been found on his person when
he made him prisoner. The articles were identified by Mr.
and• Mrs. \Vood as their property, and the prisoners were coins
nutted for trial. •
SmuGGLING Tosscco,—A man named .Smith, a nitive of
Hamburgh, was charged by the officers of customs With having
attempted to smuggle, from the American ship Henry Lea,
from New Orleans, 1781bs. of manufactured tobacco. -Robert
Price, the master of the above vessel, proved that the prisoner
had shiPped with him at New Orleans and had sailed \Nit!' him
to Liverpool, in the capacity of a seaman. The Henry Lee
arrived in Liverpool on the '2oth of June last. Bartlett France,
another seaman belonging to the same vessel, proved that he
had, during the voyage, heard the prisoner and Is namesake of
his, called George Smith. conversing together about a quantity
of tobacco which they had concealed on board the vessel in a
false scuttle. Nicholas Gill, a boy belonging to the vessel,
-knew both the Smiths, and had frequently heard them talking
together about their tobacco, which they saicl they intended to
make sale of in Liverpool. After their arrival in Liverpool, he
had during the night, heard three of the men moving something
to the next vessel, which he concluded was the tobacco. The
prisoner was one of the three. • They were alarmed at some.
thing which occurred on deck, and returned to their berths, and
shammed sleep. Watkins, the tide-waiter, deposed, that he
was going ou shore to get his books examined, when he sa..v
man on board the Henry Lee standiug Roping sonic tobacco.
The mau ran away as he advanced, and he seized the tobacco.
and delivered it to his superior officer, Mr. Pritchard. Mr.
Edwards, Mr. Pritchard, and John Daniels, all of the customs,
deposed to haviag gone on board the Henry Lee, and these
discovered a false scuttle containing a quantity of manufactured
tobacco, which, together with that which bald been previously
taken out of it, weighed 12t3lbs. The false scuttle was immedi-
ately formed between the berths of the prisoner and his secant-
pike. They also discovered, bidden beneath some articles in
the longboat, two parcels containing 52 lbs. of tobacco, making
altogether 1781bs. Mr. Shuttleworth said, that the law did not
now inflict any penalty for an offence of this nature, the
P -
unishmeat being sixmonths' imprisonment, which the nia-
gistrates had no power to mitigate. As the law lately stood,
snuggling from a vessel was punished by the infliction of a fine
of ,f:.100, the party to be imprisoned till it was Fail The alter-
atiou of ibis to imptisonment for six months, without the power
of mitigation, was intended as an amelioration, but its action
will be found, in the majority of instances, to be of a contrary
nature._ ludividuals who were unable to pay the heavy penalty
were formerly diecharged, upon petitioning the board, after an
imprisonment of from one to two mouths.. They were scarcely
ever suffered to remain in Confinement longer than the last-
mentiened periled, unless the offence wits of a peculiarly aggra-
vated nature,