Police.
The Times, 1824-12-13T00:00:00

MA-s1 r.o-HousE..1By an old Act of Parliament, provieion s'lps of linited burdeH are permitted to discharge their cargoes at Bilingagate Dock, over which the owners of the oyster boats,which arrive ill nreet abundance at this period of the year, have been in the abit o exercising as much authority, as if they were the build- ers and proprietors of it. Abont a week ago, a vessel laden with salt, an article whiclh it is said comes under the head of "provisions," arrived in the river, and approached the Dock for the purpose of discharging her car _mo. The monopolizing oystetuion Immediately entered Into a combmation to prevent the intrusion, and drew their boats across the entrance to the dock, determined toresist vi et ormis all attenmpts upon the part of the salt vessel-to advance. In this extremity, the crew of the latter applied to the clerk of the market. who, upon learning that the oyster boats were drawn up in battle ar- ray, and were resolved not to listen to any terms, short of the sentence of perpetual banishment against -the salt shlip, and every other ship, informed the Lordl Mayor that his Lordshlip's, interference was ne. cessary. The Lord illayor Aent'Ms. grown, the marshal, and sotne of the Inferior ofHcers, to brinp the obstinate oystermen to reason. At first, the appearance of the police seemed to have an effect upon them, and thev promised to pass the salt vessel into dock as soon 3S the tide woula permit. IUr. Brown then directed the officers under lim to remain in the market until the vessel could be brought in at high water, and left the dock. As soon as high water arrived, how- ever, the oystermen, Wilo had gathered together In consideralAe num- bers in their boats, shlowed so little inciijation to perform their pro- mise, that the cretyof the salt 8hip werc afraid to approach the bar- rier of boats which were Iitiked together to obstruct in the most ef- fectual manner all attempts to pass them. t'he clerk of ihe market . finding that a decisive course was necessary to be adopted, assured them tbat a complaint should be made to the Lord Mayor, likely to have the effect of diminishing the indulgence they had been ac- customed tb ~hut thek ordered a blind 3lddler, whom they hired, to play tsp in the teeth of the city nuthoritiec, and they set up a danec anti a yelling whic!l completely confound&l their olpttnents. The clerk of the market thereupon got hold of a hatchet, and cut the hawser of thiq boat ne:%rest the siiore, in order to open a passage for the ship. This operated as a ignal to thc oystermen, whoshowed an obstinate resolation to reAistafl the efrorsis of the jpolice. One of them sei;eed a hatchet, swore he would cut down any man who at- tempted to move a bnat out of its station, and began to hack away at the hawser of the salt ship. John Forrester and fHesketh, the offi- cers, finding thazt a mild course would not do, leaped into the boats for the puapoee of seizing the most violent of the aggressors. 1They soon aucceeded in their object, and bore away one of them to tne MaastonIhouse, but not tintil the)* turned the salt ship Into dock. Multitudes of fellows about t4he tharke4 whose hatted of the police is great, during the row constantly ecotiraged theejstetmdn to edt dowtn the officers, and foh soMe time things had rither an alarming appear; ance. The men having premised never to oppose the entranee of a salt ship again, the iod Alayor discharged the defendants. BOW-STREET.-THE CASE OF MiIss BLEXISrSOPP..Oar readers will recollect the case of this lady, who had escaped from a private mad-house, and was pursued to London by one of the officers of the establishment, who applied to Sir R. BIRnIE on Thursday last for authority to take her back, which the Magistrate refused to give. On Saturday Sir John Chapman late 2Mayor.of Windsor, a brother of Illiss lenkinspp's, and Mr. Phillips4 the peraon who made the former application, and whe is the resident surgeon in the establishment in question, waited u.pon the sitting Magittrate, Mt. M INSHULL, for the purl'pb.e of offering a public explanation of the matters contained in the newspaper reports of Friday last. These gentlemen were accompanied by Mr. Cooper, thze proprietor of De- batt's, and not Knight s Hotel, as stated by mistake in the former re- part. Sir John Chapman said that he was a partner in the asylam from which Miss Blenkinsopp ad escaped, and he: wa. well acquainted with all the circumstances of that lady's case. Slie was nquestion. ably insane, and had been so for a long time. She was treated with even more than ordinary kindness in the asylum, on account of the perfect harmnlessness of her malady and the paWtural mildness of her disposition. Sir John hero mentnoned, the nature of the delusion under which the unfortunate lady in said to labour* but we forbear, from motives of delicacy (t the famnsy, from repeating the lescrip- tion given by the worthy knight. He produced a letter to the Illa- gistrate which had been received fro)m Mdiss Blenkinsopp's mother, who iS residing in a very distant part of the country. Thlat ayatetaed that she had seen the'statemlent relative to the escape of hlerdaughter, and complaind dof. the remissness of tte establish- ment in suffering it. :She spoke in the most affectionate termg of her unhappy daug1s.ter ; but bore testimoAy in the rnost yncquivoe. mannerip brli insanty, qtddesited that her letter might be consider. ed'a sufficient'tauthority for replacing her daughter in the asylum. Slie added, that, great as the distance was, she would have come linnnediately to LQndon, but that another beloved daughter was just at the point of death, and she (.Mrs. Blenkirnsopp) believed that her departure wvould accelerate the fatal event. lisa Blenkinsopp's brother said she was most decidedly insane. Anotidnr tight-have gone abroad that she had, or -was entitled to, money, btit that was not the case. 'She nevee liad any property whatsoeiver. Sir John Chapman said there was one thing which he felt particu- larlv anxiousgto-explain. It was stated that the certificate was sign- led y Dr- Fergusson, and tbat no sucl name was to be found in the list of physicians. It was true that that gentlernan was not a mem- ber of the colUege, bat he was a graduate of the University of Edin- burgh, and a most able and respectable iana. By the act of Parlia- mert, the signatute of one medical man was dleemed sufficient to a certificate ot insanity. Sir J. Cliapman then begged it to be 'atider- stood that he made no conplaint of the publication of the case, he was a friend to publicity, and with regard to the establishment in whlelh he had a sharc, he and his partners always courted inquiry. Notontlymagistrates, but any privateindividuals, were perfectly wel- coieo at all times to inspect every part of it. He presumed tbat, after what had been stated as to the state of the young lady's mind, there would be no objection to her being taken-back to the asylum. Mr. I1ll rNalaA.t said he could give no order upon the subject; but he sVppo6ed that the hotellkeepet would offer no resistance to ber re- movsi. Mr. Cooper said lie should certainly not resist the autherity of these gentlemen. He had been aetiuated in the step he had taken, only by a motive of humnanity, conceiving as he did, that the lady was perfect'ly sane-a belief that had not been shaken by his sub. sequent eonversations with ler. lie never saw a person more rational. Sit J. Cbapman said slie was quite rational, perhaps, upon every subject buit 6Yie, and upon that there could be no doubt of her in- sanity. But did irl Cooper think her taking the pitosilibon who drove her, for a ghost, a proof of sanity ? MIr. Cooper explained, that the poftlien, not satisfied wiih what she gave him, followecd lher to her apartment, and when she turned round and sawv him, she started, and said; " Oh ! I took you for a ghost'" and she then gave him a sovereign instead ofYa shilling. Aftet some further conversation,the gentlemen left the office, with the deierthination to convey Miss BletXkinsopp back to the lunatic as0tlun; 'We undctdind that Airs; Blenkinsopp, several years ago. kept a large semninaiv for yotlng ladies, not fir from London, wlhich she gave up, and went to Indla wifth her daughters. One of them was there married to Sir Joltii Newbold, and. fhe unhappy subjict of this statement also fornsed a tender attachrenert, which, however, was not attentled with the like fortunate result. This is supposed to be the ruling cause of her :-alady. Besides the " particular delu- sinn" described by Sir Join Chapman, sbe has a notion that th s ob- ject of her attischiiiient had sent over a lack of rupees for her use, a notion which is perfecty groundless. She escaped by a garden-gate which bad been by aceisent left opn; end walked toEBghamn, where she hired a post-chaise for I ondon. LjAM5iET5e.5T RET.-Ott Saturday, amongst the subjects that were brought before hiis wvrship the I' ag strate to answer for their contempt of the lawvs of the realm, was no lessa personage than King George, who was called upon to answer the charge of bilking the respectable hest of the Barrow Inn at Stratford. The aggressor, although possessing tiie name of our beloved mo- narch, It may be as well to state, does not claim any affinity with tlhe royal blood. His pedigree cannot be traced. lie being a found- ling, and was deserted at the age of two mouths by his paTents, wvho left him exposed on the road side, in which- situation he was found, and was brought up by the parlsh of West Ham, by whom he was christened " King Ge5rge." He is now acting as constable tbr the parish, and is considered a .zealotts and deserving officer- He is about 23 years of age. Illr. Cotton, the proprietor of the Harrow Inn at Stratford, stated, that on the preceding evening, King George came -into the coffee-room, accompanied bv two females. Hle called for a glass of gin and water hot for the ladies, and after that had becn disposed of, ha called for another, which soon shared the t'ate of the first, and the glass was filled for the third time. Whether it was the flavour of the spirit, the capillaire,or the disagteeable state of the evening, he could not say, but one or the other induced the defendant to call for threc more glasses, making in all six. King George nov becaine rathee a noisy szbject, and in a tone of macscty calledl upon the waiter to bring his bill; and finding that six glasses had been charged to bim, swore he had had but five, and that the one was an overclarge. His con- duct getting beyond all endurance, he callel for Wi'right, a consta- ble, and sent King George to the round-house, to answer for his con- duct next morning before a magistrate. The Magistrate told Alr. Cotton that he had acted in a taost un- justifiable manner, in detaining King George: it was most harsh treatment, af'tor the young man had been spending his money at his lidure, to consign him to the watchouse tbr the sake ot'6d. His W'orship hoped he had not been kent in the watchhouse all night. Wright, ethe constable, said he had not and the Magistrate said he was glad to hear it. I'elicans had no power to detain a man, for refusing to pay his score for spirituous liquors, nor, indeed. any thing belonging so him * if they (lid, it was at their own peri1, as there was an act of Parliament in force that would punish = vhem ery severely ftbr 2o acting. Ring George was immediately set at liberty ; but afterwards the at7air was arranged by the publican agrceing to accept the money for the five glasses only. botacpR.