The Statesman.
London, England, 1821-10-16 00:00:00

POLICE.

MANAIDN-DOORR.••RORBERY O! THE ORDNANCE nE-
CORD-011,1C E.—Yesterday a man named George Lem,
was brought before the LORD MAiroa, and charged on
suspicion of having robbed the office in the Tower for
the deposit of records belonging to the Ordnance and
other departments,-of records of importance, which had,
been sold as waste paper.
Joseph Ryder, a labourer, who works in the armoury
at the Tower, stated, that on Saturday morning he
saw the prisoner coining out of the Record-office, hea-
vily laden with a large package tied up with brown
paper, on his shoulder. lie locked the door and put
the key in his pocket, and then moved of with the par-
cel. Witness suspected from the prisoner's manner
that he bad been acting without authority, and followed
hiss to the outside of the Tower where there was
in waiting a regular porter with a knot. The pri-
soner immediately transferred the load to the porter.
Witness followed and saw them enter the shop of Mr.
l'rice, cheesvinonger, 115, Bishopsgate-street-without.
Witness then returned to the Tower, and informed the
gentlemen of the Ordnance what he had seen.
Harrison, the marshalman, stated that be went to
the shop of Mr. Price, in company with several gentle-
men belonging to the Ordnance-office. Harrison asked
Mr. Price whether he had not just got some books
from the Ordnance-office. Mr. Price very readily
showed some which he had bought that morning from
a man, the description of whom answered that given of
the prisoner. '1 lie gentlemen identified 14 large vo-
limns iellich were produced. Ilesketh went in pursuit
of the prisoner, who was known in the Tower, having
been once employed there, but the circninstacce having
been the subject of general conversation, the prisoner
availed himself of the publicity of it and absconded.
After some search the police succeeded in apprehend-
ing him at the house of a relation, to whom be had lied
for shelter.

Mr. J. 11. Warring, one of the principal clerks of
the.Ord n nce,deposed, that the papers found at the house
of 31. r. Price were documents belonging to his Majesty,
which had been deposited at the Record-ottice of the
Ordnance. They were of carious &des. Some were
30, others 100 years old. Some or them were ledgers.
The papers found at the prisAier's apartments also be.
longed to his Majesty, hut were not documents of any
importance. Those found at the house of Mr. Prier
were documents of importance which ought not to be
abroad.

Mr. Price, cheesemonger, of 115, liishopsgate-street
without, stated that the prisoner came to his shop two
or three months ago, and asked witness whether he
wanted any waste paper. Ile replied in the affirmative,
and the prisoner brought him a considerable quantity.
fur which be paid the full price, which was 4tl. a
pound. Witness questioned him at the time as to the
manner in which. he procured it, namely, whether he
bad come by-41. hon-htly. The invariable answer of
the prisoner was, that he had got it into his possession
by honest means, and he added, that lie got nothing by
it himurlf,4 as be had been employed to sell it for an-
other person. Mr. Price, however, in-Romer to *mei
questions put to him, said he had not asked the prisoner
who or what he was.
The LORD MaYoe censured the witness for the care-
less manner in which he had received the paper Some-
thing more shonld, he observed,he required by cheese-
mongers than the bare words of persons who offered
manuscript for sale, that they bocame possessed of it
honestly. In consequence of such condnct, things Of
the utmost value to the owners had been lost.

In the course of the investigation, some strong in-
stances were mentioned of the very blameable conduct
(to give it the Ugliest name) of cheesemongers and
others in • their (lenit's with low fellows who offer
them books for sale. On one occasion (not long
since,) a boy went to one of the lratter shops, with the
entire library of an eminent solicitor, which he con-
trived to get ant piecemeal after many journeys,—
Amongst other valuable books were the works of
Hume, Bolingbroke, Paley, &c., in superb editions,
richly gilt with morocco covers. The cheesemonger,
said lie should not buy them unless the covers were
torn off. This cetemony baying been performed by
the boy, the cheesemonger bought the whole library,
and still escaped transportation. At the time the
Post-office was under repair, one of the labourers each
day carried away a basket full of the Annual Register,
Mr. Freeling ascertained the deficiency in time to
save the valuable set from destruction, and found
those which had been stolen with the covers on, as it
happened. Not long since it was found that a mer-
chant's ledger which bad been stolen was purchased at
a butter shop. The loss of character which a cheese-
monger had recently sustained in the city would, it
was hoped, operate as a warning to all those who dis-
posed to make a cheap purchase of books.
The prisoner, upon being asked whether he had any
thing to say in his defence, was about to make a long
statement, when the Lord Mayor advised him to be
very cautions in the acconnt he gave of himself, lest it
I -
might prejudice him elsewhere. The prisoner then
said he would reserve his statement until the next
examination.

It was stated he the gentlemen of As Ordnance-
office that they had not yet ascertained the full extent
of the robbery, but apprehended that it had been most
extensive. The officers stated, that they bad learned
that several butter-shops had been sapped from the
Ordnance-office, atoll that much had been already used.
The prisoner was remanded for further examination.

CVILDHALL.—her,cis Cottle, one of the watchmen of
the Ward of Cripplegate-within, was brought up yester-
day before the sitting magistrate, Air. Alderman Scno-
LET, charged with an assault.

John oshorn, a green-grocer in Aldermanbnry, the
officer who had the prisoner in custody, is one of the
constables of Criptdegate, and his rota for ditty at the
watch-house was S.stur lay night last. his wife, a res-
pectable, motherly-looking woman, after finishing busi-
ness for the week, was proceeding about half-gust twelve
o'clock through Addle-street, part of the prisoner's
beat, in her way to the watch-house to take bee husband
the key of the door, to let himself in on his coming off,
duty in the morning, when she observed the watchman
reeling about, evidently much intoxicated, which she,
feeling her dignity as the wife of the constable of the
night, thought it her duty to notice, and., accordingly,
on coming up to him, said—" Why, watchman ! you are
drink!" Cottle, who was unused to be so talked to by
a female at an hour when his authority was at its utmost
plenitude, immediately seized Mrs. Osborn, declared he
knew her to be a common street-walker, and that he
would take her to the watch-house for her impudent.'.
de was not so drunk hitt he knew what she was Well
enough. Aware that she should meet a protector at the-