The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1842-06-03 00:00:00

Wellington, Lord Stanley, the Lord Chancellor, the Earl of
Haddington, the Earl of Jersey, Sir E. Knatchbull, Lord
Fitzgerald, the Earl of Denbigh, the Chancellor of the Ex-
chequer, the Earl of Ripon, the Earl of Abzrdeen, and Vis-
count Lowther. The ..s_ttorney-General was present, as also
were Mr. Maule, the Secretary of the Treasury, and Colonel
Rowan, the Police Commissioner. Mr. Hall, the chief ma-
. _

gistrate at Bow-street, was also present. The investigation
was, of course, strictly private, and no particulars of what
occurred at the Home-office transpired officially. As soon
as the investigation (which lasted till ten o'clock) was over,
the prisoner was removed by the back entrance leading to
the park to Tothill-fields Prison until twelve o'clock this
day. He was held fast by two policemen, Inspector Pearce
and Superintendent May, one of whom grasped each arm.
The prisoner appeared very pale, but collected in manner.
From the outside of the office he was conveyed in a coach.
We were enabled to ascertain from other sources some in-
formation which may be relied on with regard to the name
and connexions of the prisoner.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PRISONER,

The prisoner, John Francis, is the son of a respectable
man of that name, living in Tottenham-court-road. He is
about 20 years of age, about 5 feet 5 inches in height, and at
present rather shabby in appearance. He has a foreign cast
of countenance, though by no means such as to warrant the
belief at first entertained that he was a German. His hair
is very dark, and he has dark whiskers. His complexion is
sallow, and, allowing for the paleness natural to him in such
a situation, rather of a light olive. There is certainly nothing
to indicate ferocity in his countenance. It appears that he
has been absent from his family for more than six months
past. His father had not heard of him for nearly that time.

The father, who is a very respectable, honest-looking man,
came down to the Home-office in a state of the deepest
anxiety. He was, it appears, at Deptford when he was in-
formed of the fact that a youth, who was believed to be his
son, had committed this crime. Scarcely believing the pos-
sibility of the thing, he nevertheless hurried up to town, and
the first news he had heard of his son for so many months
turned out to be that he was in the hands of the law charged
with this most serious offence. At first an attempt was
made, probably from a humane motive, to lead the poor man
to believe that he was mistaken ; but it ultimately turned
out that his fears were too true. When asked about the re-
sidence of his son, he said he did not know. The last he
had heard of him was three or four months ago, when he
lived in Great Portland-street.

The father was not examined last right, because the evi-
dence already before the council was sufficient for the re-
mand. It is understood that he will be examined this day.
A large square deal box, found, as we understood, at the
prisoner's residence, was brought to the Home-office and
examined ; what the contents were did not transpire.
From a different source we have received another account
of the prisoner. It will be found to be substantially corro-
borative of the above :

The name of the prisoner is John Francis. He is 20 years
of age, his height five feet five inches. His person somewhat
corpulent; bearing notwithstanding the latter circumstance
a very strong resemblance to Oxford. He was dressed in a
dark frock coat rattier too large for him, a light waistcoat,
black stock, with a pin in it, drab trousers, boots, and a wide
brimmed hat.

One particular circumstance observable in the prisoner's
appearance is, that he has a peculiar rolling eye.
He is the son of a machinist at Covent-garden theatre.
His father, who is a very clever and industrious man,
brought his son (the prisoner) up to the same business, but
some months since he got into confirmed loose habits, and
deserted his parent. Since then he has had no direct com-
munication with him.
Several of his relations and acquaintances describe him as
being of a very quarrelsome disposition.
When the prisoner arrived at Tothill-fields the Governor,
Lieutenant Tracey, placed him in a separate cell, leaving a
turnkey to watch him.

It is stated that the prisoner has for some days past been
seen lurking about Hyde-park.