The Statesman.
London, England, 1823-04-21 00:00:00

THE STATESMAN•

Prisoner—Pray, Sir, were you not guilty of sacrilege
in pawning the church plate, while pansh clerk, at Great
Yarmouth.
Recoenta—The witness is not bound to answer that
question, u no man • can be called upon to criminate
himself, nor must you make such charges without ample

proof.
Prisoner resumed—Was not the chinch plate removed
from your house about three years ago, in consequence of
your misconduct ?—No, it was never Tetuoved, but is still
under my care. •
Julia Healey, sworo.—Knows the prisoner at the bar ;
became acquainted with him about four years ago; in
consequence of hie working at the same shop where her
uncle lived foreman ; he introduced himself to her as a
single man, and after a short courtship they were ID4I,
vied at Shoreditch Church, on the 14th November, 1619;
her uncle, ;who is since deed, being present at the erte-
n ony. The prisoner, after living with her about two
years, deserted her, lea. :ur her with a young child, and
pregnant with a second, without aoy means of subsist-
ence; the prisoner before he left her having disposed of
every thing valuable, and had even took the wedding-
ring off her finger, and sold it, iu consequence of which
she was reduced to the greatest diatressand misery. When
witness accused him of having another wife living, be
said she was not his wife but only a kept woman.
Clifford Elisha sworn.—ls parish clerk of Slsoreditch,
and produced a copy of the marriage register between
the prisoner and Julia Healey ; it was dated 14th Nov.
1819. IVitness is not able to identify the prisoner, as so
many people are married at that Church.
The prisoner, in his defence, entered into a long arp•
ment to prove that the case was not made out against
him. lie maintained that it was impossible for the wit-
ness Absalom to identify him, after nut having seen him
for five years, and that, too, at a time of life when the
features of a young wan undergo so touch alteration.
He then proceeded to comment on the severity of the pro-
ceedings against him, and the hardship of his having
been so long confined without money or friends, which '
obliged him to advocate his cause in person ; he coo-
cludeil by leaving himself in the hands of the Jury.
The RECORDER aumnied up the evidence to the Jury;
in his opinion the case had been fairly established against
the prisoner, and there was no doubt of his guilt. It
was not necessary to call a host of witnesses to prove the
first marriage, when one woe quite sufficient for pur-
pose; the prisoner did not attempt to deny thethe second
marriage, and therefore no doubt colds' exist.
The Jury, after a short consultation, found the pri-
soner Guilty.
The It ecoaDoo then addressed the prisoner, comment- I
ing with great severity on the enornii!y of his offence.
He observed that a case of more hardened villainy had
never come within his notice. He was not an ignorant
man, and therefore could nut plead that as an escose.
' His brutal conduct towards .1111ia Healey, whom he had
seduced by a false oath, and then deserting her in dis-
tress, was a crime of no ordinary nature, and was almost
unparalleled in the catalogue of human offences, and
plainly showed him to be a man, if lie was deserving of
that name, destitute of the common feelings of humanity;
the Court, therefore, would not fail to visit his sins as
they deserved. The seorenee of the Court WO, there-
fore, that he be transported beyond the seas for 7 years.
Wm. Monroe, aged 67, by pro'ession a surgeon, who
appeared a once respectable man, was convicted of steal-
ill two sheets, the property of Thomas Annis, in the
dwelling house.
The written defence of the Prisoners, couched in res•
pectful language, detailed a snort history of his distress•
es' situation.
The wife of the prosecutor recostonended him to mercy.

Pzasiiiirtaitia..-10 a pamphlet,
" Cottp-d'oeit on the war of Spain, between the years
ISOS and 1514," the author, M. Ls licaurnille, chief of
battalion in the royal corps of Engineers, thus describes
a scene, and relatesa conversation which occurred during
his service in the Peninsula, for the purpose of showing
the dogged and oncooquerable perseverance of the Spa-
nish character:—" On my first passage of the Ebro at
Miranda, I was lodged with a peasant, who, covered with
a black sheepskin, a enontera of undyed wool, his face
blackened with smoke, and his body squatted in a corner a
of his gloomy cabin, presented no- bad resemblance of
hear taught to use segars After several attempts, I, at
last succeeded in drawing him into a conversation, and
the subject of it naturally seas, the great number of
French troops who had passed that point. • With these
soldiers,' said Ito hint, it will Dot be difficult to sub.
due Spain.'—‘ Of that we know nothing as yet.'—' We
shall not be prevented this time.' said I, from going
to Madrid.—' 1 think rot.'—' We shall penetrate to
Valencia..--‘ That is very possible.'—' We shall reach Ca-
diz.'—' Thal may happen, ausuered he; and yet aftrr
all, Spain will not be subdtted:—.. What do you
say?'?'
* Let me ask you, Senor,' replied he,' have you not om
times seen balls fired upon a house?" I es, Senor.'--
' The I all destroys every thing in its passage, but don
not return." And the house,' said I, is overthrown.'l
' But the foundations,' added he, • rem tin. The Moors
conquered Spain more rapidly than you can, and yet, byl
the assistance a lion, we at last drove them back into'
Africa." Yes, at the end of 700 years." What boots,
it?' concluded he.• It is more than 700 years since the
cat
ofToledo was built.' We must think of postal-
ty.' I have quoted the dialogue, adds M. la Beaumille,be-
cause it was the expres,ion of a general feeling. 1
found the idea of the comparison between the invasion of '
the Moors and the French universally diffused, and I never ,
met with any individual who, in making it, expressed the
least fear of seeing the national independ,mce estftotished
through a war of seven centuries. Twenty gene
rationsrats are
not sufficient to exhaust their patience.—` I ays
he afterwards, against the iticonveuieuces of a military oc-
cupation, the inmates of the houses where I lodged, and it
never happened to me to take leave of my hosts without an
offe r of their fuore seri ices, or a promise to take care of
me if I shouldt return rounded or a prisoner into their
town. They could not conceive, eve at the moment
ever
that
the French left their quarter victorioas, n t hat they could
axe es except as captives.'
EXTRACT FROM A UNtiRD STATIa' PAPER.—A negro
fellow, previous to the revolution, being suspected of
having sto!en goods in his possession, o as taken before a
certain Justice of the Pea ice n the cottnty of Philadephia,
and charged with the offence. The uegra acknowledged
the fact, and made the followingo, decisive defence
" Massa Justice, we know me got .leut tinge from Tom,
dere, and me tink Tom teal dent too; but what den,
Massa? Dry be only a piccaninny knife and a piece,'
cork,screw : one cost /
honestly and tudder a shilling,
and me pay Tom for dem , Massa."—" A very
pretty story truly," said his Worsirtp, " you knew they
were stolen, and yet allege, in excusr., you paid honestly
for them : I'll teach you he ter law than that. sirrals !
Don't you know, Pompey, the receiver is as bad as the
thief? Yon must. you black rascal, be severely whips."
" Very well, Massa, if de black rascal he whipt for buyin
tolen goods, ur.: hope de white rascal be whipt too, fur
game ring, when ocatch hint, as well as Ponspey."—
"To be sure." pliedrep the Justice. " by den," says
Pompey, " Here be 'font's Massa ; hold him fast, consta-
ble; he buy Tom as I buy picaninny.knite, and de piece-
qiony corkscrew. lie know verry well poor Toth be
stolen from him obi fAtltlrr and mudiler : —de knife and
de cork-serew had nedder." Such was the justice as well
as the severity of Pompey's address, that after • short
pause, the Magistrate, with the consent of 'f um' s master,
dismissed him, and discharged the action.
Snoctoso AcetossT.—A poor woman, 74 years of
age, named Eaton, lodging at 13. Kingsgate-street, Hol-
born, luring left by her-elf, her clothes caught tire,
aid she was so dreadfully burned before she received any
asiist.o.ce, that she expired on Friday morning.

(eatntat.L.—Sittordsy, before Sir Ciantottts S. Hex.
Telt, Bart. the Sitting Alderman, two men, named Phi-
lip Discombe and Thomas Francii, ticket porters, plying
at
warrantn in Bishopsgate-street, wtre brought up on a
for an assaultbf an atrocious nature upon Philip
Barnett, a Jew old clothesman.
The prisoners, together with Thomas Winterbond, also
a ticket porter, had, it seems, been to a supper given by
a young mars, a comrade of theirs, on Tuesday evening,
and on-tVednesday morning been, as one of them termed
it, " vejoicing themselves" with the fragments, and plen-
tiful draughts of ale, till they were just drunk enough to,
be fit For any kind of mischief ; while they were in this
state, larking about in Devonshire-street, Bishopsgate,l
the poor old Jew. and Isis son-in-law, who is nearly
cripple, happened to coins down the street in pursuit of
their daily avocations. The son-in-law was first, with
the bag on his shoulder, when the three fellows placed
themselves across the street, and kept dodging him from
side to side to prevent him passing along, laughing at,
and insulting hint at the same time. Barnett interfered,
but no sooner had he opened his mouth to ask why they
insulted the man, than they pushed him from one to the
other with great violence, and one of them (Francis),
pulling a cord out of his pocket, said, " I'd be Jaek
Ketch for once, and hang the Jew," and immediately
threw the noose over the Jew's head. His companions
pulled the rope tight, mai the poor Jew was dragged
along till he fell down. The fellows,however, continu
still to pull him along, till too passengers, one of them
happening to be a
ass Jew, inteeered to protect him, and the
re fellows ran ay. This interference, it seems, was
but just in time to prevent murder; the poor Jew was
quite black in the face, the rope round his neck hiving
been pulled so tight, it was (leaned necessary to cut it in
mare to remove it. The Jew Gentleman who bad as-
sisted in releasing poor Barnett, had also managed to
keep his eye upon the three fellows, who went Into a
neighbouring public-house, as soon as he found Barnett
safficientv recovered, be procured the assistance of an
officer, but un going to the hens.. Winterbond only was
Gino& and he was accordingly brought to this Otis c.
and held to bail for his offence. Discombe and Fraatis
were taken into cutely on Saturday morning.
The prisoners di 1 not attempt to deny the violence
with which thee. were charged, and bad nothing to
offer either in defence or excuse of their conduct, but
that they were so drunk es not to know what they did,
and they now expressed contrities fur their behaviour.
Sir CLAUDIUS HUNTS& reprobated in the strongest
terms the wanton barbarity of the prisoners, and said, he
should hold them to hail for the offence.
In the sequel, however, ihe Magistrate was applied to
by a respectable looking person, the uncle of one of the
prisoners, to permit the affair to he made up. They were
both, he said, men of good character, and now most
heartily sorry for their conduct, which intoxication alone
bad led them to commit. The prose:utair, too. was will-
ing to forgive them, if the Jlagistrate would allow the
affair to be settled.
Sir CLAUDIUS, with much reluctance, assented, upon
their promise never to be guilty of a similar offence again,
and publicly acknowledging to the prosecutor their sor-
row at the manner in which they had behaved to him.
This they most readily perfoitneil, and the parties were
then permitted to with-draw together.
On Satnrday a man, haring the appearance of a sea-
man, was brought up before the sitting Alderman. at
this offire, charged by Davis, the day-patrol, with being
intoxicat•-ti, arid creating a disturbance iu the Old
Itai-
ley Sessions House-yard, about six o'clock on Friday
evening.
The prisoner told his story, which excited great inter-
est, in nearly the following words :-11e was a native of
Perth, in Scotland, and iu the year lts2o he entered the
Royal African corps as a private soldier. and to join
which regiment he, in 1821, sailed from England ; that
he was landed at Gambia, and almost immediately volun-
teered to accompany the Government mission, (appointed
for the purpose of exploring the interior of Africa, and
finding out the source of the Niger), which was then un-
der the command of Major dray, of the Royal African
corps, and accordingly travelled with the mission, first
through the Joliffe, and onwardinto the Fully') countries,
until they reached Bullivannah, the capital of the Fullab
country, which is a mud-built town, and contains shout
5,000 people. Hero they were forced to remain till the
rainy season terminated. It was their intention to have
then proceeded in accomplishment of the objects of their
search, but they were prevented by the Alin anal), of the
King of the Fullahs, who forbade them to proceed in
their projected route, and pointed nut another, which,
had they rustled, must have exposed them to destruction
from the number of robbers and the difficulties of te
roads. Finding them refuse to follow the line he hand
laid down, he commanded them to return to Senegal, and
ordered a strong guard to accompany them. Appre-
hensive of danger, and still desirous of attaining the ob-
ject which they had io view, they contrived to wake their
escape from their guards, and, after many dangers and
sufferings, they reached Itequale, a town on the river Se-
negal, 1,004) miles further up the river than SenegaL—
Here they remained for sixteenth months, under the pro-
tection of the French, who haul a settlement there, and
were building a fort, in the erection of which our traveller
and hiscompanions assisted, and received regular rations
in return. cause of their detention here so long was
the want of ;eater in the river, and as soon as the rains had
swollen the river they prepared to embark in steam-vessels,
emplyed by the French in conveying merchandize between
their settlement asd Senegal. While they remained here,
the principal part of their number died from dysentery,
brought on by the badness of the water, the excessive hest,
and Heine upon nothing but maize and ' koos koos.' a small
grain, like millet, pounded and eaten raw. Major Dray de-
termined to remain here in furtherance of his duty, and kept
thirteen men (all blacks but one) to obey his commands; the
rest he sent by the steam-boats (Shout fourteen men) down
the river to Senegal, where they arrived iu about tea days,
soiling at the rate of nearly 100 miles a day, caused in a
great measure by the violence of the current. From Senegal
they were coaveyed i
t her echooder to Sieves Leotte, and.
after suffering greatly there from siAness, they took ship-
ping and were conveyed to Liverpool, where our traveller
and four more landed, out of 190 who embarked along
with him, the rest having either deed, or been scattered
throughout Africa. They pursued the same track that had
been traversed by Mungo' Park, and became acquainted
with malty interesting perticulars concerning him. The tra-
veller was treated very handsomely by oa„Goaernmeot
the
ou
his return. After having ended his story, explained
last night's affair, by saying that
bole had been with a friend,
who had gives him a cmsider quantity of rum, and
that, having sn empty stomach, it had directly affected hum,
during which time he was unconscious of what he said or
did ; that he was sorry it had happened, end that, if fits
Worship would pardon this offencs, he would take care ii
should not occur again.
The Worthy Alder nen. who appeared satisfied of the
truth of this story, gave him a kind warning, and dismissed
He was a tall powerful man, with a countenance bespeak-
ing firmness and sagacity. and a body capable of enduring
fatigue, and rppareatly little affected by it. lie spoke
French fluently, and was well acquainted with the native
languages of the countries in which he stayed so long. Al-
together, he seemed well fitted for an auxiliary to the expe-
dition watch he accompanied.
Bow-staegT.—Me. Darid Barbet , an artist, was sum
moned before Mr. M issue ra., at this office, to answer the
gomplaint of Mr. Dyson, a dealer hi pictures. to Dew cause
why he detained a painting, which, Mr. Dyson claimed as
his lawful property.
Mr. Dyson stated that he bail employed the defendant to
paint a picture,the subject of which was a Jew pedlar exhibit-
ing his gaudy wares to two country girls, one of whom was
coaxing her sweetheart to make a purchase for her. lie
ions to be paid a certain price for it; witasss*supplying the.