The Statesman.
London, England, 1821-11-01 00:00:00

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POMCS.
OCILDUALL..••••TUR EFFECTS OP ILIenDORD SE-
velum—A very ingenuous-countenanced boy, about
lt years of age, was brought up yesterday, in tbs
woe 9f John Mathews, before RICHARD CARR OLvN,
die sitting Magistrate, as a vagrant. The boy, it ap-
peared, bad been taken to the watch-house in Castle
Maynard Want on Monday night, having been found
wandfring about in St. Paul's Church-yard at a late
hour, and, by his own account, without a home to go
to. The story be then told was, that be bad been at
school at Enfield for several years, that his parents
were dead, and that a letter had been sent to the school
from an uncle of his in London, desiring him to come
to town : he arrived accordingly at his uncle's house,
where he remained some weeks, that on Monday his
uncle brought him to St. Paul's Church-yard, and
Sere left him, premising to come back to him in a few
-minutes, but never returned. He did not know in
what street his uncle lived, which he accounted for by
saying be had never been in London before ; and since
he had been with his uncle, he had never been suffered
to stir out of doors, and consequently knew nothing
about town.
He was of course taken care of in the Comptes, and
every inquiry made respecting him, but it was not un-
til yesterday morning that the falsehood of his story
was ascertained, and the motives for its fabrication de-
veloped.
The father of the boy, George Sherwin, a weaver,
living in North-street, Whitechapel, attended before
the Magistrate yesterday to claim his child, whose
name, he said, was the same as his own. According
to the father's statement, the boy had always behaved
himself well, and was indeed without a fault up to the
time of his running away, viz. Monday last. He had
been admitted into a Sunday school, and in the early
part of the last week, the teacher had made a cont-
plaint to the father that the boy had been seen playing
with some Young thieves on the preceding Sunday:
this the father has since ascertained to be false; the
boy being at the time stated with his brother in the
London Hospital, the latter being a patient therein, on
account of a fractured limb. On the Thursday fol-
lowing, the teacher :wain made complaint of the boy
to his father, charging his scholar nits, another
offence, the particulars of which were not stated,
though described to be of a notch snore heinous na-
ture: this the father had, since the buy's absence, die-
covered to be a false accusation also. The boy denied
the charge at the time, and urged in support of his
veracity the falsehood of the previous accusation from
the same quarter; the father, however, acted upon his
belief of the charge, and insisted he should return to
the school : this the boy, conscious of his innocence,
vowed be would sooner die than do, and it was to avoid
being forced that he eloped from home. The fabri-
cated story of his uncle was to prevent a discovery that
might compel him to return. Thus through the
ill-
judged severity and officiousness has an acknowledged
good boy been made truant; a liar by necessary con-
sequence ; and only by an act of Providence preserved
*ow becoming" thief. ..
Sir RICHARD CARR OLIN treated the boy. who was
in tears during the whole examination, with great mild-
ness and feeling: and after bestowing a little whole-
some, and, as it should seem, very necessary admonition
upon the father, directed that the boy should be deli-
vered up to him.
Ilow-rrazaT.—Yesterday Michael Roche, a fellow
nearly sixty years of age, with red hair, and of most
ferocious aspect, was brought up, charged with several
robberies, and with attempting to stab Mrs. Lane,
the wife of a respectable tradesman in Chandos-street.
The prisoner was brought up hand-cuffed in the cus-
tody of a constable, who produced an enormous case-
knife, which he had taken from him. It was nearly
a foot in length, and very sharp at the point. It ap-
peared, that on Friday evening last the prisoner went
into Mr. Lane's shop, where there was only a little
girl attending, and baring 'asked some trilling ques-
tion, he took a large piece of soap from the counter,
and put it into his basket; the girl desired him to put
it back, or she would call her mother ; upon which
the prisoner drew the large knife from his basket, and
brandishing it over her head, swore lie would cut her
bead off if she made a noise. The child shrieked for
help, end Mrs. Lane came out; the moment she made
her appearance, the ruffian rushed at her, and made a
thrust at her stomach with the knife, which very for-
tunately struck against the broad whalebone in front
of her stays and glanced off. He was about to repeat
,he thrust, when his arms were seized from behind by
Mr. Parr, a neighbour, who had been attracted to the
spot by the screams of the child. A desperate scuffle
ensued, which ended in the escape of the prisoner
from the shop with his basket. On Tuesday evening,
be went into a shoemaker's shop in Church-court, aid
offered a dozen bottles of Harvey's fish sauce for sale.
The shoemaker refused to deal with him, bet he con-
trived to carry off a pair of boots, which he was adroit
.iincmgh to conceal in his basket while praising the
virtues of the fish sauce. He was soon afterummistaken
into custody, and it was then discovered that be bad
stolen the fish sauce from Mrs. Lazenby's, in Edward-
street, Portman-square. He was committed for -re-et-
amination on a future day,
IlairToN-Oaansar.—Yesterday Messrs. Thomas and
Benjamin Capper, coal.merchants, in Beaufort-build-
ingt, Strand, appeared to a summons, on an informa-
tion charging them with sending out nine sacks con-
taining coals, each sack being deficient of the length
ordered by Act of Parliament, which subjected theta to
a penalty of 40s. on each sack.
Mr. Hume:ram attended for the informant.
The sacks were produced, and measured in the pre-
sence of the Magistrate, and proved to be short from
one to four inches each, as far as they were sewed up,
not including the lip or part not sewed on each side
of the month ; but each preyed to be the fall width.
Mr. Thomas Capper, one of the defendants, contend-
ed that the sacks were more than the width, and
would contain more than three bushels; that • the lip
should be considered as part of the sack, as when the
sack w
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