The Statesman.
London, England, 1821-11-07 00:00:00

POLICE.

ATTEMPT TO COMMIT MURDER.
Row-sTßEzT.—Yesterday Richard Wood, a boy
only 15 years of age, was charged with an attempt to
commit murder.
Charles 9atelell Mattock, a youth 17 years of age,
an apprentice to Mr. Bartholomew, Church.street,
Betbnal-green, hearth rug manufacturer, appeared at
the office to make the charge, but was in such a re-
duced and emaciated state, that it was with great dif-
_

ficulty he could give his evidence. From the sub-
stance of what the youth said it appeared as follows :
that he and the prisoner are fellow•apprentices, and
last Wednesday afternoon, between two and three
o'clock, they had a dispute in the workshop about some
red worsted used in the business of their master, when

the prisoner struck him two or three times, and be
gate the prisoner one blow in return ; they continued
squabbling till they got to a room adjoining the work-
shop, when the prisoner seized a large pair of seisms
made in the shape of shears, pointed at each side, with
which he stabbed him in the chest; the prisoner then

. .
opened the seisms and continued stabbing him in the
left atm and thighs till he had inflicted nine wounds
in his arm and one on each thigh. Witness endea-
voured to wrest the leisure from him, but was unable,
_ .

the prisoner having inflicted the wounds so quickly
and with so much violence, besides having got behind

Mm ; the blood flowed copiously from the wounds be
had received. The scuffle between him and the pri-
soner caused so much noise, that his mistress called
from below stairs to know what was the matter,

when the prisoner answered, " I have done fur him—
I hope I have done fur him." A surgeon was sent for.
and he was put to bed.
The prisoner, in his defence, admitted that the dis-
pute was about a trifling circumstance ; and the only
justification he offered for using the scissars in the des-
perate way he had done was that the prosecutor had
bit and scratched him. _

The muter of the two boys, Mr. Benin,lomew, at-
tended, and stated that he bad not observed any *gig
vicious is either of them, bet admitted that thepriioier
was the worst character. _

Mr. Mattock. the father of the prosecutor. wished
the master to be asked whether the prisoner was not a
sabbath-breaker ? _

Sir It. Maxie thought it a proper question ; and also
whether both of them attended to their church.
The master answered. that he could sot say much
for either of the boys in that respect.
The Worthy Magistrate observed, that he was to
blame on that account, as he not only ought to see to
that, but it was his duty so to do.
A third boy, another apprentice to Mr. Bartholo-
mew, who was present at the squabble, also attended,
when his statement turned to cast all the blame upon the
prosecutor; and that the reason of the prisoner's bar-
ing recourse to the scissars was that the prosecutor
did not fight fair, lie having bit and scratched the pri-
soner.

Sir R. Mama, suspecting this boy was giving a
partial and prejudiced account, asked him if be bad
not bad a quarrel with the prosecutor. which be ad-
mitted ; and it turned out that ,this boy bad stabbed
the prosecutor twice with a pair of scissors about two
months ago. but was not prosecuted on his asking,
pardon.
The mother of the prisoner. a widow woman, at-
tended in great distress. owing to the conduct and si-
tuation of her son, and requested be might be admitted
to bail ; but the Worthy Magistrate said it was impos-
sible, as there was no proof before him as to the stss
of the wounds from the testimony of a medical man, or
from a certificate. _ _

The father of the prosecutor pledged himself to pr►
cure a certificate from the surgeon attending his sea
as to the state of his wounds, and returned to the office
with all possible speed with the following certificate;—
" 1 do hereby certify, that Charles Satchell Mattock
received several wonnas in different parts of the body,
one of which penetrated the lungs slightly.
"Shoreditch, Nov. 6,1821." WILLIAM Tnomas.
Uettaxt-HALL.----iindreto Barnett, at whose WNW
Hazard and Rouge et Noir tables were discovered by,
the police-officers on Saturday right, the 27th of
October, yesterday appeared with Counsel at this
office against the information, having bees admitted
to bail for that purpose when first brought before the
Magistrate.
Two informations, exhibited by Mr. Rams, the
chief clerk of the office, were read. The first charged
the defendant with having set up and maintained at
his house, No. 14. Lambeth-road. a certain fraudulent
game called Hazard, to be determined by the chance
of dice, which. the information stated. Mr. Reeves
was prepared to prove by a credible witness. The
second charged him with basing played thalamus of
Hazard.
Mr. TURTON, Counsel fet pylvecudon. stated
that Mr. Reeves, In eithibitkig tits ipforination and
Winging the present subject cader the consideratioa of
the Magistrates. was solely actuated by sense oV
public duty and a desire to supprese the highly im-
mortal melees that bad , too long taken place
~at
the defendant's house, and he would not take nay
part of the penalties to which the defendants were
liable.
Camantima. one of the Magistrates who fires
present, said he bad requested Mr. Reeves to endea-
vour, by every possible mesas, to have the intolerable
nuisance the defendant's house had caused put a stop to.
The worthy Magistrate said he bad done so in cons.
,qnence of various letters he had received from persons;
lasting the existence of the evil, and lamenting the
I :jades they sastained by it.

Mr. Tun it proceedbek4e said the ease did not
require any argument : the information bad been es-
pied verbatim from the ease of the King tt. Liston,
which bad been decided by Lord Kenyon to be clearly
within the meaning of the 12th ofCieorge the Second,
which the penalty for keeping a hazard table was
2001., and for players at the game 501. Mr. Teflon,
to prove his case, called Joseph Miller. a young man
of genteel appearance, who was one of those taken at
the defendant's house, when the dicers made the
caption. He stated that he knew the defendant's
house, No. 14, Lambeth road; was there on the night of
the 26th Oct. from 10 till 12 o'clock= saw a Hazard and a
Rouge et Noir table in the room be was in. There
were several persons present, and Hassid was played
while he was there. Callaghan was the groom por-
ter of the night, and.reiraluted the game, which was
played with a box and dice. He did not see any one
act as master. The defendant sat at the table and

played himself.
In reply to questions put to him by Mr. Qum-
nine, the witness stated that, when rouge et noir was
played, the defendant paid the winnings and drew
the winnings. The rouge et noir table. in the early
part of the evening, was placed ever the hazard table,
and was generally removed about nine o'clock to allow
hazard to be played. The rove et noir table was re-
moved by the defendant's direction.
Mr. ADOLPHUS. Counsel for the defendant. con-
tended that there was no evidence of his having set
up and maintained a hazard table ; indeed, the infer-
ence was the contrary, for it was proved that he was
one of those who played at the table in question. be-
tween which and setting it up there was the same dif-
ference as between buying a leg of mutton and keeping
• butcher's shop.
The Magistrates, after a short consultation, declared
that the offence was proved, and that the defendant
was liable to the penalty of 2001., which the Act does
not allow to be mitigated.
Mr. ADOLPHUS said, it was the defendant's deter-
mination to appeal to the Sessions.
The second information against the defendant for
having played at the game of hazard. was then proved
by the same witness, on which be was convicted in
the penalty of 501.
Mr. ADOLPHUS stated that the defendant would also
appeal from the second conviction, and he, in conse-
quence, gave bail in the amount of 6001. to a►ide the
event of the appeal. _ _

Two persons who were present at the time the of-
ficers visited the table, were also convicted in penal-
ties of 501. each, for having played It on the night
they were taken.

Three vertebrae of the celebrated fossil animal of
Maestrieht, has been discovered by Mr. Nestell. in
the Chalk, near Lewes, a circumstance that may be
regarded as highly interesting, since the remains of
that oviparous quadruped have not been previously
noticed in this country, nor any part of-the con-
tinent, except is Saint Peter's Mountain, near Maas-
tricht.
Yesterday, at a Petty Session, at Uxbridge, two
common informers appeared, and laid informations
against Messrs. Heron and Co., coal-merchants, of
Uxbridge, for sending out a quantity of coals, to a
gentleman at Hillingdon, for sale, not having a per-
fect bushel measure with the same. The defendants
were convicted in the penalty of 40s. and coats. As
the informers were leaving the town, they were at-
tacked by great numbers of the inhabitants, amongst
whom were some of Messrs. Heron's workmen, and
pelted with dirt, blood, and filth; and but for one of
the Magistrates, who happened to come up at the
time, the informers, it is thought. would not have sur-
vived. The Magistrate procured assistance, and
quelled the riot by taking a number of the offenders
into custody, who were examined the same day before
the Bench, and ordered to find bail to answer the
charge of the informers: The Magistrates afterwards
walked to the verge of the town with the informers,
(who were from London), to protect them from a se-
cond attack by the mob.
On Saturday morning last, the body of Mr. Michael
Brookes, a respectable innkeeper, of this town, was
found in a piece of water called Oibson's pool, at the
back of Digbeth, with the throat cut in a severe man-
ner. The common report that be was murdered, ap-
pears to be utterly without foundation. He was the
late occupier of the Boat Public-house, in Suffolk-
street; and afterwards of the Horse and Groom. in
John-street. the good-will of which latter place be
had just sold for the sum of £170; and bad for some
weeks been in sdespondiog and melancholy way, ftom
supposed losses in business. He was traced In a Hovel
at the back of the:Horse Shoe Inn, in which place he
had made the first incision in his throat ; and a consi-
derable quantity of blood was found on the spot; from
thence he appears to have gone and precipitated him-
self in the water, after a further struggle to end his
life by lacerating the wind-pipe; but it would appear,
from the shallowness of the water. that he had most
probably died from the wound in his throat ; or from
the joint effects of bleeding and suffocation. A
Coroner's Inquest will be held on the body this day.—t
,(Dirmingham Mercury, Not'. 5.) •
CORONSIL'S Isousat.—.-Monday evening, at sevell
o'clock, an inquisition sae taken before Thomis Shell
ton, Esq. Coroner, in the Board-room,. at Clay's Hoe.
pital, on the body of .Anae Daw. It appeared from
the evidence, that the deceased. who was about 40
years of age, had been- for many years back servant
at the house of a respectable tradesman in the Borough
Digh-street ; two masters of per's. committed suicide.
owhich occurrence seemed to have preyed mach upon
her mind ; and at her latter place she accidentally set
lire to the house, about four months ago, since which
the had been in a low desponding state; she wus ad-
Mitted into the hospital on Wedunday last, labouring
under a nervous affeetion, with considerable depres-
lir of spirits; she was bled, and several times tore
Alia bandage off her arm, with a view, it was supposed,
of destroying herself by bleeding to death. A close
watch wst kept upon her, but availing herself of the
temporary absence of the nurse from the ward. she
effected ha;. purpose by strangling herself with her
pocket tapes, which the nurse, who bad been only to
the next ward. at her return, found tied remarkably
tight round.the neck of her patient. who was thus ly-
ing on her bark quite dead in bed. Verdict—That
eke deceased put a period to her existence by straw
"gelation. being at the time in a state of temporary
mental derenesment.