Police.
The Times, 1824-02-03T00:00:00

Mli.ssioX.uiouisE.-Yesterday a younz man, named Gcorge Phie mwr, was brought before the LoaD MAYOR, charged by his father, a respectable old ntan, with having committed a breach of the peace. The father, who has been for manv vears established as a star- maker, in Prince's.street, Minories, stated that for more than two years past his son had been in the habit of comniitting the most se. riousbreachee of the peace. He came on the previous morni,n, at two o'clock, and began to raise the whole house by a violent knock- ing. He then disturbed the family antl the lodgers bv loud outcries, and it was found absolutely necessary to give hins in custody. It wat; his practice to disturb the house at midniight in this manner: but to what cause such conduct was attributable neither father nor mother could conjecture. Tbe son, when asked by the LORD MIAYOR Wlat lhe ha(l to say in his defence, was at first so muci agitated that he burst into tears. lie said it was extremely painful for him to be placed at a bar under a charge preferred by his father, but it was another ihputation of an awful nature, no less than that of having murdered his brother, which had been cast upon him bv Isis familv, and had for a long time made his mind unhappy. It was this whvichl had an effect on his mind that he could not prevent, and wvhen he drauk worked him up to commit those breaches of the peace w hich he now lamented. Ilis brother, who was no more, and whom he was charged with having in some- way or other destroyed, wvould now, if lie were alive, be about 27 years of age The thought of that accusation was quite intolerable. The LoRn MAYoR questioned the father upon this extraordinary statement. The father said that he had never made such a charge against the uinhappy young man at the bar, and never would have breathed the subject. had it not been thus pu'blicly alluded to. The truth was, 1 that lie had another son named Robert, who some years since was set up in business at St.Alban's, where he succeeded in establishing *im- l self as a stav.maker. But lie made an unfortunate marriage, and separated from his wife. It was now seien years since he had sud- denly disappeared from his familr, who had never since received the sliglhtest information as to what had become of hin-.. it was on the 18th. or 19th of November, seven years ago, that Rohert who had then beeni separated trom his wife upwards of twelvc monthls, was said to havc observedf hrr walking in a lonely part of the town of St. Alban's with a .nan, of the nature of whose acquaintance wvith her he seemel to have no doubt. He disappeared from St. Alban's the next day, without comitmicating with any of his acquaintances, or fi'aking any arrangements fron which it could be supposed that he contemplated an absence of anv letngth. The state of affiiction to which his family were reduced upon hearing of this unaccountable departure and delay,was indescribable. A reward was offered for any information respecting him; but the only intellieence they could receive was merely conjectural, and de- scribed himn as haiing been seen at Redburn,ix Hertfordshire, on the day after he was missed from St. Alban's, getting into a post-chaise, accompanied b,y a strange man. The family had wvritten to all their acquaintances in differeint partm of the world, but inot one word of' consilatlon nan tney ever receiveu. ouca wa.-s wu vIubIcuwuw -U his father and mother, that they were convinced he would not keep them longer in suseense, if hc had any longer thetpower of making I | them acquainted with his destiny. He could have had no motive for thus abandotning those to wvhom? he was so dear: he was not in em- barrassed circumstances; 2nd if he intended mercly to avoid his wife, he could have accomnplished tnat object without rac;ing the heart of his father antd rnother; The IonD Ml YOn, who listened to ttis stu ernent with a great deal ofxattention, heredesi-red to know vwheter Mr. Plummer had dccused his son at the bar wvith being instrumental te the disapp-er- ance of Robert. Mr. Plunimer said he had never dreamt of making such an ac- cusation; buit George limselfe had spoker of his absent brother as a murdered man ; and had, br what he stated to his mother and his voungest brother, imput:d to himself a knowledge of the fate of ~lobert. The LoRD MAYOP. then immediately desired that the mother, who stood ttext to her husband, drowned in tears, should state what had occurred between her and her son George upon the stibject of Robert's disappearance. .lrs. Plummer said, that the prisoner told her about a month after Robert was misse5d that he was either dead or soon would be dead: and that she might be convinced of the tiuth of it. The dreadfiu fears occasioned by this communication were not alleviated by an assurance made soon afterwartla by George, that Robert was dead; an assurahcd accompanied by the woris, s" I knowv where he is; I know where he lies." Frequently since that period George had al- ludet1 to the dreadful subject, but never had he been accused of being a party to the disappearance of his brother. There was a younger brother now at St. Alban s who had mentioned that George had told him that Robert was dead; that he (George) knew of his (leacti, but would not .u tcah (tell tales.) Both father and mnother had, until this statement, been in doubt whiether their chilti had gone abroal or been destroyed. I 'rhe prisoner here said he was sorry to be obliged to contradict his nareats, for whom he had the utnest respect. He .never had made any assertiors to the effect stated, and declared that he was only provoked when in a statc of intoxication to allude to the asper- sioni which had been made upon him with regard to the death of his brother. The LORD n IAYOR said that great advantage woald. certainly arise frorn the publicity given to the case; a9i if Robert- Plutnmer vwere delad, the ingqiry wvhich must necessarly take place wherever the facts and suspicions were mentioned, would most effectually tenid to bring to light anv existing evidence; and if he were alive, would fiarniih the best means of mnaking him acquaintFd with the afflicting couadition of his family. His Lordship. consi- dered it necessary to remand the prisoner hitil the younger brother can be brought froni St. Alban's.-The prisoner was then remanded. BOW.sWREET.-We stated in our paper of yesterday, that the daughter of Mlrs. Vhite, having been fD,t lt at a honse in Villiers- stries,StrnLnd, ant br&u tbeforqthe magistrate on Saturday nmght, gave s tchinfortnatiodt agginst a gentlemau whom she named7 as in. duc:ed Illr. Mzrslo ULL to grsnt a warrant for' his apprelia'ision,. T'hegeytleman r.amed wasCelo,wL.Gteorge 7*gtstiu *05a' aettl. late on 8aturday nigMt, Blackman, tlie offiddr,- apprh6nded him and lodcd him in Covenc.tarden watcbhouse, where he rema,oIa untilyeFerd a rnbni`*, wharu-he wasbrtught up and underwen t a very Ion*xgnitW.ion3n aprivate room before Mr. MizsNuu.L, fe is a t4ll-mrn, lFarevtlaboet 40 years of ag, ar,d served inthe gngl]sh cavsIeg during the Peninsular war, and is no* a V&lonel in the Colombian serviee. The statement of the girl, as far as it can be repeated here, was, that Colonel Lowe, by various promises, such as that he would take her sbrcad with nim, prevasled upon her to quit Alrs Bliss's house, whiclh she did on Thursday evening, by appointment, and the Colonel took. heri to the-.Foutuitair, in Catherine-street, Straud. There, accqrding to her comnTX air being with him some time, he accomplished his purpose by 1,,',eosding his hand upon n er month to p,event-her fiom cryiaout- j: left her to leep alone that ma;lht, ace on the foillowing Mornur"'bag e and took her io tbe house a Villiers4tseet, where he hbg-jslod ; for her, and where she remained until fetched a#ay br the oflcer nd her mother. The Colonel, in answer tp she charge, porelv denied that the slightest force had been used, and sad that the l,ebelieved, went out from fMrs. Bliss's house at eight o'coc; on the evening Ui question, and he did not quit the house until ten and then he fbund her sta.nding at the top of the street. She folowed him, and spoke to him, and he certaily tool her to the house mentioned, but she went with perfect willingness. DMr. Fisher, the surgeon to the office, was sent for, some doubt having ari&en as to the completion of the offence charged against the Colonel. but M;. Fisher was unable to say positively that it had been con pleted. The exmuaintion hAd lasted until late in the afternoon, whenl Mr. SItUsfuLL ordered Colonsl Lowe to enter into recognizancea for his appearance at the sessions to answer for the misdemeanour, hiai- self in 200L, and two sureties in 1001. each. Alr. 'oberf Sweet, the manager of extensive nursery-grounds at Chelsea, and the author of several botanical works, was brought up in the cw,tody of Ruthven, one of the principal officers, charged on suspicioi *sith- feloniously receiving a number of exotic plants, the property of hisaMajesty, he well knowing the same to have been stolen. It appeared from a mass of testimony adduced, that for a consider- able time past the Royal Botanicil Gardens at Kew have been plundered of rare exotic, and other plants, and the&stmott vigilance or those Interested in. discovering he depredators was inevaiing either in prevention or detection. On Thursday mQming la-t, Sr. Smith, the second keeper of the Roy-l Gardens, missed sevez rzre exotics to which his attention had been Derticularly directed and tnforctation was immediately transnmitted to Sir RIcseAals t- xIE, who sent Ruthven with all possible deepatch- to Kew. This active officer, in the course of inquiry. learned -that a box, which from its size and oonstrmction was calculated to conE- vev articles requiring particular care, had been booked at the ,?aggon and lIorses at Kew-bridge on Wednesday evening, and was sent to London that (Thursday) morning by Limpus's Houns. Iolv coach. The box was directed to "M Ar. Robert Sweet, at Mr. Colville's Nursery Grounds, King's-road, Chelsea"' Ruthven next found that the box hadl been delivcred at the WI'aggon and Horses, by a young man of the name of Noyce, wbo, on being applied to. stated, that on Wednesday eveningf he was requested by Alichael Hogan, a gardener enployed in the Royal Gardens, to -take a boe for him across by the f'erry to Brenrtbrd and get it booked for Lon- don. H ogain handed the box to him over the wall of the gardens; and being wo lare for the ftrry, he took: it over the bridge and booked it at athe XVagg* and Horses,. This Michael Hlogan absconded on IT yfrom his emnployment, vithout asking for his wages. nthen retrned to Londo; and late en Thursday nighlt went to the house of the nriaoner, which is situate on Mr. (Olvilles grounds, in the King's.road. On be.ng introduced to him, Ituivlen asked if he had received a box from Trea.tford that day? " A box from Brentford?" was the prisoner's reply, " No; I know I nothing of a box; trom Brentford." Ruthven told him it was of no use to denv it, for that he knew such a box had been delivered there, and u'nleqs he produced it, he should be under the necessity of takiiig hiimi into custody. The prisoner then took Ruthven to lr. (olville, to whom lie said, " This is Mfr. Rutliven of Bow- street, and lie i5 conme to inquirc nbout a box from Brentfbrd.- I Ir. Colville repliedl to prisoner, " WhVat do you knowr of a box from lirentford:? You can know nothing about such a box." The officer, however, was peremptory, and after some further conversation, Mr. Colville and the prisoler took him anad M?r. nmith. of the Royal Gardens, to several of the green or hot-housep7 in one of which Mr. Smith identified two plants, which he missed about a fortnight before ; and on a further search the plants stolen on Wednesday night were also found. The prisoner was taken into custody, and conveyed to Covent-garden watchhouse, whence be was brought before Sir R. BiueaE on Friday; but Ruthvcn being absent at Kew, malkeng further inquiry, and no one appearing against him, he was discharged-, but on Saturday lie was again takern into custodv on a representation to Sir R. BIseNsE that the absence of the oflicer on Friday was uniavoidable. On Saturday and yes- terday the case underw ent a very long examination. T nat on Sa- turday was urlyae, and the result was, that the prisoner was re- 4iianded till vesterday, and Alr. Colville went at large upon his own underta'king to appear yester'day, which be did, and the case was publicly gone into. A coachman proved the delivery of the box to the prisoner himself at the nursery on Thursday. 111 r. Clolvilfe was discharged ungonditionally, and the Pr saner Sweet was ftully comnmitted for trial uder A late act of Pariarment, which gives the power of prosecuting ac-essories after the fact for fclony, although rtbe urinctpal shall not have been tried. This act passed during the last session of Parliament, And was brought in by the p.esent Lord Chief Justice of the Common Pleas. Previous to thlis, an accessory could only be tried fior a mjat'emcanour, unless the prinlcipal had been first convicted. Several gentlemen of the highest respectability bore testimory to the unimnpeachable cbaracter both of Mr. ColviUe and ttheS risoner, and bail moany amoun t -was offered for the latter; but Sir Birnie Ifelt it lils dutv to refuse it. POLICE.