THE POLICE OF LONDON.
Oa Monday, Earl Ferrers appeared at Marlborough Street to prefer a charge against three boys, named Pierce, 1Vhitte1 and Millett, for having picked his pocket of his snuff-box, in Berkeley Square, on Thursday after- noon. It appeared that sonic persons watched these boys, and saw them liangia,g about his Lordship, and then suddenly make off. When asked to feel in his pockets, he found that the lads had taken everything out of them, that happened to be in : viz., a wooden snuff-box, and a handkerchief. The case was clear; but his Lordship refused to be bound over to prosecute. Mr. Roe, however, insisted upon the necessity for it ; and in case of his con- tinuing to refuse, threatened to commit him to the Tower. His Lordship, however, made all kinds of excuses—such as that he was going into Leices- tershire. Mr. Roe told him that his expenses should be paid, and that he would only lose two days. It then appeared that his Lordship did not care for money, but expected to have the gout : the Magistrate could if he pleased commit the boys-for rogues and vagabonds, and relieve him from all further trouble. His Lordship also pleaded his peerage, which he alleged put it out of the inzg'strate's power to bind him over; and offered to go and procure Lord Tenterden's opinion to the same effect. Mr. Roe remained firm. His Lordship declarAl " that no power upon earth should compel him to prose- cute, and that if the matristrate committed him he would bring hint before the House of Lords." The noble earl then complained that the constables had compelled him to go to the watchouse against his inclination, and sign the charge against the prisoners; " but take care, fellows," added his Lord- ship, " that I dont bring you on your knees before the House of Peers." Mr. Roe consented that the boys should be remanded till Lord Tenterden's opinion could be had. On Thursday, Lord Ferrers appeared again at the office, with the opinion, not of Lord Tenterden but of Mr. Charles Phillips: he confessed he had been wrong, and allowed himself to be bound over ; refusing, however, to swear positively either to the hour of the theft, or the value of the box, and stating that he was sure of having the gout at the trial, and expressing his intention of sending up a servant in his stead with a physician's certificate. A pauper was brought before the Lord Mayor, on Friday, for throwing his wooden leg among the members of the Committee of the parish of Aid- gate, while they were taking his complaint against the overseers into consi- deration. As he refused to buckle on the leg again, the overseers were obliged to bring him to the Mansion-House in a coach. The Lord Mayor (to the defendant)—" Why, how could you suppose that the way to obtain favours from the Committee was by throwing wooden legs at them ?" (Loud laughter.) The Pauper—" My Lord, the leg they gave me was made for a man who was a foot and a half shorter than me, and I could not wear it by no means, I went so up and down with it." The Lord Mayor--" But you should not have abused them—I am sure they seem disposed to serve you if you only act respectfully." The Pauper—" Why, you see, my Lord, I am willing to work, but how can I work, if as how I can't walk." The Officer declared that the defendant had gone upon the leg for three weeks, lvithout complaining, and that it appeared to be a very unexceptionable sort of a leg. The Lord Mayor interceded for the man with the overseers; and addressing hint, said, " Defendant, I have prevailed upon the parish to put you once more upon your legs properly ; and let me entreat you never to throw away an old leg until you get anew one."—(Loud laughing.)
For the last fortnight the parishes of St. Paul, Covent-garden, and St.
Martin-in-the-Fields, have carried on a warm controversy as to which of them were bound to take upon them the burden of a dangerous madman, who had become one of their casual poor. It appeared that the unhappy object of this controversy had formerly been in St. Martin's workhouse, but had been dischaged from thence. About a fortnight ago, he was sent from the work- house of Clerkenwell, and on that very day found his way into St. Martin's watchhouse, in consequence of breaking some windows irk St. Martin's. lane. When brought before Mr. Halls at Bow-street, the parish officers of St. 'Martin's represented that he belonged to St. James's. Clerkenwell, and thither Mr :lads dir ect:d two of his officers to convey him. The people at Cle.kenwall, however, refu-el to receive him ; and when the officers brought him back. inste id of lodging him, as they ought to have done, in St. Martin's w itchliouse, they lodged him in the watchhouse of St. Paul's. Co. ent-garden. This mistake it was that gave rise to the contention. Un- fortunately on Vie following day Mr. Halls left town, and the unhappy man ha. srnce been kept in a state of the utm st misery in one of the cells in St. Paul's w teahouse, without anything to lie upon except the boards. From the evidence of the unfortunate man's relations, it appeared that his real settlement is at Edwinstone, in Nottinghamshire, where he lived for four years in the capacity of baker in the family of Lord Manvers. He was previouzly, however, in the service of Lord Petre. whose son (the Hon. Mr. Petre ) has come forward in his behalf, and in addition,to supplying him with nutriment, has provided him with medical assistance, and insured his reception into Bedlam on Thursday next, provided the officers of either of the parishes will sign the requisite certificates stating the man to be mad. This tile officers objected to do, lest, in case of the man's death, the parish should be called on to bury him. M. Halls ended tbe matter, by ordering his instant removal to St. Martin's parish. A FIT WRITER FOR IRE LITERARY PERIODICALS.— William Dawson, a youn man whose appearance denoted the extreme poverty, was carried to Geildholl on Monday, charged with lurking about the Temple as a mendi- cant, and delivering begging letters to the residents. One of these letters,ad- dressed to "Mr. C. Jones, Esq." was read in Court, and was much admired, as the production of " a young man well versed in all classical pursuits of ancient and modern literature," and who had " written for nearly all the literary periodicals—the New Monthly, the Athenceum, the Spirit of the Age, the Mirror, the Ofio, &c." The exordium was as follows :—" Sir, it is with the utmost importance and deep regret, I now take the liberty of writing to you these few lines, merely, I add, to explain to you at once with the teal nature of my distress, of which I have no doubt will baffle all de- scription that ever manifested itself in writing." The writer proceeds, in the same classical way, to state that he is by profession a clerk or law-writer ; that owing to the badness of the times, he is "quite, quite destitute of having in Ins possession a single haltpenny ; " that " nothing can be more shocking, or more worse," than being at times in danger of starvation, and that" of all evils now existing in the world, poverty absolutely beats them all : in short, poverty, to a man of genius and talents, brings him to a state bordering on that of madness—lo ! misery, ruin, despair, andfinty—in the end—I add death." There was a great deal more about the nature of po- verty in general, and his poverty in particular, concluding with a request that Mr. Jones would favour him with a" positive answer and final result in reply," and " overlook the defects in his letter, as it was written in very great haste arid unpunclualetl."
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