The Statesman.
London, England, 1821-01-16 00:00:00

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A stuout.st Dtscoveltv....-At the 'bunion-hoot! yes-
terdyi, Mr. Duncan Campbell, who is .well known at the
Police Offices fur his careful observance of Acts of Par-1
Bement, appeared against a Jew hoy named lirdramisrel
Allot, and sharged him with s robbery. In the coarse
of the investigation, a fact of considerable importance
came out. The case was as 'follows :
Mr. Campbell said, that on Saterday, as he was r oing
along Honndaditch before five o'clock. the prisoner
snatched his gold watch-chain and seals from his fob,
and ran off. %Vitness followed the prisoner, who was
taken into custody in a very short time, and who bad is
running never got out of .lr. Campbell's sight.
The officer who apprehended the boy, searchea him,
but did not find any thing upon his person. There
were near Mr. Campbell, it appeared, at the time of
the rubbery, some oilier boys of suspicious appear-
ance, whom he suspected to be accomplices in the rob-
bery. The boy said nothing. 31r. Campbell valued the
watch at 20/.
The evidence beincof this direct and incontrovertible
nature, the chief clerk drew up a recognisance in the
usual manner, binding Mr. Campbell to appear at the
Ohl Bailey, to prosecute and give evidence against the
prisouer.
31r. Campbell said be bad no objection to give evi•
Bence against the person who robbed hint, but he begg. I
to know by what authority he WAS called upon to prose-
cute. Helaad made up his mind not to he the prosecu-
tor, for he could not, ►n his opinion, be legally a prose-
cuto►r in a criminal case. _ .

The Loan-MAYOR said the act of parliament reudered
it imperative upon the person robbed to prosecute the
person against whom evidence eottld be adduce', likely
to lead to a conviction. In the event of a refusal to en-
ter into a recognizance to that effect, hi: Lordship ap-
prebendnl the person robbed must himself go to prison,
a place which he should he very sorry to see his friend
Mr. Campbell select.
Mr. Campbell said, his Lordship was certainly right
in obliging persons who stood in the situation I which
he stood, to act up to the letter of the statute. by A p pea r-
inz to give evidence against a thief; but thure was, he
believed, no act which compelled a man to p •osecute a
thief. The King was the prosecutor, and he (Alr. Camp-
bell) should not presume to take the respont•ibility out
of such powerful hand:.
The City Solicitor was sent for. anal upon being ques-
tioned by the [oral Mayor upon the liability of Mr.
Campbell, in the event of his refusal to prose( ute, that
gentleman said without hesitat. , that a refusal must
he followed by the consequences stitch by the Lord
Mayor, and.hoped Mr. Campbell would adopt the alter-
native.

Mr. Catuphell said he was determined to art op to the
letter of the act of parliament upon the subject. Ile de-
fied the City Solicitor to produce an act %illicit could
e pel him to prosecute. Ile repeated that he %%as rea-
dy and willing to give evidence to convict the prigoner
and he hoped that, before extremities were proceeded
with, the art on which he was to be committed would be
shown to him. _

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The City Solitcior immediately referred to the Ist
and 211 of Philip and Mart•, rap. 13. entitled " An Act
touching the Bailment of Persons ;" hut, upon the read-
ing the chapter. be found th.it not one word was said
upon the subject of compelling► any person to prosecute.
The learned gentleman then admitted that there existed
an error in the manner of binding over parties to prose-
cote. The act merely required that persons should' be
bound over to give evidence ; and of worse Mr. Camp-
bell was in the right.
The word pe,,scruie was then blotted out of the Tern.-
ilizaner, and Mr. Campbell signed the bond requiring
him merely to give evidence.
As soon as the boy was ordered to he committed, Mr.
l'ampbell said he should take rare that justice should he
done. " I'll snake his Majestv'sAttorney-Neutral," said
he. " prosecute the prisoner."
The Loan Mvvok observed, that the Legislature must
interfere in the ensuing Session to remove theriairtli-
ment thus presented to the course of justice.

On Friday, the 3th inst., a murder was committed
at Whitchouses. about two miles from Patelev-bridge,
near Ripon, attended with circumstances of peculiar
atrocity. The following are the only particulars which
have tel reached us respecting this dreadful otettr-
retire :—The unfortunate deceased, Ibboison Mason,
who Was a respectable butcher at Whitehouses, had
been employed in dressing a sheep for liar market on
the following day at Pateley -bridge, in which employ-
ment he had been assisted by a youw,er brother.
What occurred between them on this occasion is un-
known ; but the mother of the young man, haying oc-
casion shortly afterwards to go into the shop, was ap-
palled with the dreadful spectacle of her eldest son
lying dead upon the floor, and weltering in his blood.
The cries of the distracted mother alarmed the neigh-
bours, who hastening to the spot. found the scull of
the unfortunate deceased so dreadfully fractured, that
the brains were littrrally scattered in various diree-
tiuns upon the floor. An axe, besmeared with blood,
with which, doubtless, the sunnier hail been perpe-
trated, was found near the body. Suspicion instantly
fell upon his brother, Joseph Mason, who had quitted
the shop a short tinie before his mother entered it,
and who, it seems, had previously expressed a wish
or intention to !louder his brother. rpon inquiry it
I was ascertained that lie hail gone to linaresborongls for
the alleged purpose of visiting his other brother. A con-
stable was immediately despatched after him : he was
apprehended at linaresborough ; and, upon searching
him, a large butchers's knife was found concealed
upon his person, with which it was supposed, be in-
tended to murder his younger bristlier. On Monday
an inquest was held upon the b.idy, a hen, xfter a long
investigation into all the eircithisiances, the Jury re-
turned • verdict of Wilful Murder against Joseph
Mason, who was committed to York-castle to take his
trial. The prisoner had been previously confined for
lunacy, and charity would hope that this dreadful
deed has been the result of some maniacal excitement.
—(teed: Met-rimy.)
Onssortot.Floce.--On Friday evening, the iqd ult.
about six o'clock, an alarming tire broke out in a build-
ing filled with paper and Hunt rags, belonging to Mr.
Joseph Drake, paper-maker. at King's-mills. The
building was adjoining the dwelling-house of Mr. J.
Bowman, in which were two females, who were nearly
suffocated with smoke betore they gut out. (In giv-
ing the alarm, all the help they could meet with was
seven-men, who, with the assistance of the wows,
kept down the flames for some time, till their strength
was exhausted, and two of the stoutest men fell with
suffocation ! Even this, and the very alarming situm
lion the house was in, did not discourage the wawa
from continuing their exertions, sometimes actually
' standing deep in the-river. About four bonus elapsed:
before the dames • were ex.tingsisiseJ.—(bierviiessi
Merril rii.)