The Sun. — 1846-09-16 (London, England)

WORSHIP-STREET.  George Creed, alias Green, a tall, muscular young fellow, was placed at the bar before Mr. Broughton, charged with being a deserter from the 3d Light Dragoons, and also with being concerned, with others, in assaulting and seriously injuring two police-constables who had effected his capture.  The prisoner, who was sworn to by the police as a convicted offender, although only nineteen years of age, was taken into custody in July last by Sergeant Conway, of the police, for deserting from the above regiment, and consigned over by the magistrate to the military authorities. On the road to the depot of his regiment, however, although under the guard of a file of riflemen, he contrived to elude their vigilance, and returned to his old haunts in the neighbourhood of Whitechapel, where he remained secreted until the preceding evening, when he was at length traced by police-constable Hope, of the H division, to a low lodging-house in Wentworth-street, to which the officer proceeded with another policeman, and took him into custody. The prisoner went quietly enough for a short distance, but suddenly turned round, expressed his determination to go no further, struck Hope a violent blow upon the head, which partially stunned him, and appealed to a large mob of thieves and blackguards who had collected and followed him upon his apprehension, to assist in his rescue. The mob immediately assailed the officers, whose truncheons they wrenched from them, and hurled a shower of brickbats and other missiles at them, until they were knocked down and rendered powerless, when the prisoner again effected his escape. As soon as they had recovered their feet, and extricated themselves from their assailants, the constables made their way to the station-house for assistance, and Sergeant Price, accompanied by Davis, another constable, went in pursuit of the prisoner, whom they discovered at another lodginghouse in the same locality, armed with a heavy kitchen poker, prepared for a furious resistance, and declaring that he would murder the first man who approached him. The officers' attack, however, was so sudden, that he had no time for reflection, and he was rushed upon, disarmed, and secured before he could carry his threat into execution. The constable Hope exhibited marks of very severe treatment, and produced his hat, which was beaten into holes by the brickbats hurled at his head. Ia answer to the charge the prisoner admitted being a deserter, but said that although he had certainly been a thief, he had suffered the legal punishment for his of fence, and considered it hard that his former character should be brought out to excite prejudice against him. Mr. BROUGHTON said, that if the prisoner had really abandoned his former vicious courses it would have been obviously improper to allude to them; but the direct contrary appeared to be the fact, and as the constable had evidently suffered serious ill-usage, he should adjourn the case for a week, and in the meantime consider whether justice would best be answered by adjudicating upon it with his own powers, or handing it over to the military authorities for the ordeal of a court-martial, before whom the policeman's evidence could be adduced in aggravation.