The Sun. — 1851-01-17 (London, England)

LAMBETH.  John Simpson and Frederick Kennester, the latter a burglar and thief, and the former the associate of thieves, were placed ut the bar, before Mr. Elliott, on a charge of attempting to break into Hercules-hall, tho residence of Mr. Brookes, a starch manufacturer.  The prisoners were further charged with breaking into the premises of Messrs. Buck and Wootton, stationers in Mount•street, Lambeth, on Monday morning last, but having been detected they made a hasty retreat, taking only a sixpence belonging to one of the female servants.  From the evidence it appeared that at about half-past three o'clock on that morning Mr. Brookes was awoke by Mrs. Brookes, who had heard a noise down stairs, and who mentioned her suspicions that there were thieves on the premises. On getting out of bed and going to the window Mr. Brookes saw two men on the back lawn, one of whom was in the act of opening the back dravviug-room window. He (Mr. Brookes) instantly gave an alarm, upon which both the men ran across the lawn, and, it being a bright moonlight morning, he observed the figures of both men, and they corresponded in every respect with those of the. prisoners. Mr. Flexmore, the clown at the Princess's Theatre, and who is neat-door neighbour to Mr.Brookes, on hearingthe alarm of" Thieves ! ' and " Police!" instantly sprang a rattle, and in'a very few minutes aeveral constables were on the spot. On their arrival they saw the prisoner Simpson descend by a ladder from the first. floor of a house in the course of erection in York-place' adjoining the premises' of the prosecutor, and ou searching the cellar of the building the officers found the other prisoner, Kennester, huddled up among some shavingr, with a dark lantern close to him, and some inciter matches on his person. Mr. Buck, of the firm of Buck and Wootton, 33, Mount-street, stationers. and also the keepers of the post-office and money-order-office, stated, that on Monday morning flint the premises of himself and partner were burglarious!), entered by the thieves forcing, open a back doer. Having to force a second door before they conid reach that per; of the premises v?hich it was their object to arrive at, and which had evidently offered con siderable resistance, they made auflialent noise to dia. turb E 0111,) members of the family, and had it not been for the extreme daikuess at the time, they would have in their retreat received that which they little calculated on. In the morning, after the prisoners had been secured, and while at the station-house, Sergeant Guff brought the boots of both to his (Mr. Buck's) house. and on comparing them with the footmarks left in his garden, and the garden of his neighbour, Mr. Forster, they fitted so exactly that he had no doubt whatever the prisoners were two out of three persona who had burglariously entered his tneLnises. Mr. Buck added that in the month of May, 1849, his premises had been entered by thieves, who carried away rostage stamp,,, cash, and other prop!rty to the amount of over 2001., and since that time he lied kept a blunderbuss and other firearms foaled in the house, and had it not been for the extreme darkness of the morning, as he had before stated, the men wield have received the contents of some of them.  At the station-house the prisoners were placed in separate cells, and in the course of the morning Kenneo--r was heard to ask Simpson if they (the police) bad taken anything from him, and he replied that they hail taken his boots. Keunester said ;hat they had taken his also, and that it was a " bad job." Evidence was given of the fact of the prisontr tee having been repeatedly in custody, and convicted of the most desperate robberies. It wa4 also said CI it on one occasion he and Wood, the young fellow who was committed from this court on the day before for the murderous assault on Mr. Wigg, were both convicted of an attempt to break into a dwelling-house, and sentenced to nine months' imprisonment. The prisoners wero fully-committed for trial on the charge of breaking into the house of Mr. Brookes, as it appeared they succeeded in forcing open the shutters of the back drawing-room, which had been left secure on the family retiring to rest at eleven o'clock on the night before.