Police.
The Times, 1824-06-12T00:00:00

BOW-5 TREET.-TEIE CASE OF TIRS. BsRoo;s.-Yesterday morning this lady appeared at the appointed hour, attended by her husband, a solicitor, andahostof private friends. The veteran comedian 3lr. Munden WaS early in his attendance on behalfof Mlrs. 3rooks, and before the investigation was resumed, he made a com- nuenica\CtUiSOn to Sir R. BrtE upon the subject of his knowledge of As soon as the worthy magistrate who. first heard the case on Thursday (kr. AIISSHULL) had arrived, the parties were called forward. * Mr. Lawrence, the master pawnbroker, was first examined and havig been sworn, he in the most unqeualified manner leclared that Alrs. Brooks was not the person who pledged the artisles in question. It was further stated Lt behalf of Wrs. Brooks, as an additional proof ef the utter improbabiity of her being the guilty person, that she had no knowledge whatever of the Smiths (the persons who lost the property) nor of the house in which they lived; and she could, therefore, hiave had no idea whatever, that any thing of value was to be found lhere. Fenner the pawnbroker's shopmun who had sworn go positively to Mrs. irooks, was called, and at once admitted that he must have been mistaken, altheugh he was as thoroughly satisfied on Thurs- day that he was right, as that he was alive at the time. Air. A1IN'S}{ULL.-Indeed, young man, this is a most serious affair, and I must say that I feel exceedingly shocked at the whole transaction. Here is a respectable woman brought before a ma- ristrate upon a charge of felony of a very serious kind, and the charge resting entirely upen your testimony; you swear most po- sitively, and in spite of repeated cautions, that she is the offender ; it is now proved, beyond the possibility of a doubt, that she is en- tirelyinnocent; and observe what the consequience might have been, had it not been for the positive contradiction of your evidence by the apprentice; this lady, instead of being suffered to go at large upon her husband's undertaking, would have been confined in a gaol for 24 hoors. This is a striking proof of the extreme caution necessarV to be observed by witnesses eas tegatds J)ersial identity, and I hope it will be a caution to you as long as you liye. IUrs. Brooks's tolicttor said, that if it was considered necessaty he was prepared with evidence to show, that his client was not for one minute absent from her own home on the day upon which the robbery was committed. She was attending upon a sick person until 12 o'clock at night, and then she retired to rest. Mlr. AlIXSHUL L. said that such proof was wholly unnecessary. Sir R. BriuriE said he had known AMrs. Brooks upwards of 20 vears, and there was a gentleman present who he believed had known her much longer. The namc of that gentleman was Alunden. Alr. Alunden said he had known her for 40 years, and her charac- ter for integrity was not to be questioned. Fenner, the tears swimrning in his eyes, exprcssed the deepest sorrow at what had happened but said he hoped all the circLmstances would be considereQ, in extenuation of his conduct. The person who pledged the nrticles gave the name of Brooks,and during the whole of te time she was in the shop, her conversation was upon theatrical matters. She spoke of the prosperity of some of the houses, and the reverses of othersb and rnehtioned the names of several actors, among the rest that of lAir. hlunden. These cir- cumstances coupled with his former knowledge of the person of Mrs. Brooks let no doubt on his mind that it was lker. Mr. Lawrence said it was but fair to the young man, to state that the woman who pledged the articles was as much lik-e what Alrs. Brooks was five years ago as it was possible for one person to be to another. Mlr. Alunden said she was very strangely altered in personal ap- peasance. Mlr. AlMsHsuLL._.Mrs. Brooks, you dame into this office with the character of a woman of credit and respectability, and you wisl now, I have great pleasure in saying, leave it with that character perfectly pure and unsullied. hIrs. Brooks, with streaming eyes, clasped her hands, curtsied, and quitted the office without uttering a syllable. Her feelings were too big for utterance. In the course of the inquiry, Mrs. Brooks's solicitor averred, that a very unfair account had appeared in Tlhe Times newspaper of that (yesterday) morning, of the Thursday's examination. The writer of that report had not the power of making any immediate appeal against the truth of this assertion; bat he after- wards showeds a copy of The Times to Mfl.lr. Ilinshull, who did the reporter the honour to say, that the statement was, as he had uni- formly observed others from the same quarter to be, perfectly cor-. rect and impartial. It should be observed, that the solicitor was not present on Thursday. POLICB.