About ten days since, two officers of Excise proceeded to
the house of a man named Belt, a German, situated in a retired part of Totten. ham, about a mile from the high-road, for the purpose of searching for private and illicit stills, which they suspected were at work on his pre. inises. 011 knocking at the door, it was opened by Belt himself, whom they acquainted with the object of their visit. He promised them every assistance in his power, but declared that they were misin- formed. They then entered the house; and were immediately secured by Belt ; who caused them to be handcuffed, and, thus manacled, to be marched through the village to the watebbouse, where they were locked up from about three o'clock until eight o'clock in the evening. At that hour, they were conveyed before William Robinson, Esq., a resi- dent Magistrate ; by whom, after an examination which lasted until half-past eleven o'clock, they were discharged. A few days afterwards, the same officers, accompanied by one of the constables of the parish, proceeded to the house ; when the constable was, in the same manner as they had been previously, handcuffed and locked up ; but, on his being taken before the Magistrate, he was also discharged.-1/Lraing Chronicle. [This is a strange story. Why is not Belt taken before a Magistrate himself?]
Last week, three fellows assaulted on the highway, and attempted to rob Mr. Dawes, surgeon, of Stoke, a powerful man, as he was returning home from Lane End, about two in the morning, near Fenton toll-gate. They fell on and threw him down ; but while they were rifling his pockets, he caught hold of the finger of one of the fellows, and bit it clean off, as if it had been most scientifically amputated, which so terrified them that they took to their heels. Mr. Dawes pocketed the finger-tip ; and gave information to the head constable of Stoke, who pursued the fellows, and apprehended two of them in a public-house at Lane End, named George and Charles Evans cousins. One of them was the fellow who lost his bit of finger ; and this it was which led to their detection and committal. The parts suited when joined; and the constable has put the finger-end in a bottle of spirits for preservation, as evidence at the trial; and such is the curiosity excited, that hundreds have been to see it.
A large quantity of " Lucifer" matches accidentally caught fire 011 Tuesday, in the shop of Mr. Cremer, perfumer, of Stamford Street ; and it was With the greatest difficulty that Mr. Cretner could prevent the flames from extending and setting tire to the house. The matches ignited in consequence of falling from the counter to the ground. On Wednesday morning, a small steamer engaged in towing vet. ads in the river, was racing with a larger steamer called the Endeavour, in Bluckwall Reach, when the boiler of the former exploded, and the engineer was most dreadfully burnt. Three other persons on board escaped without any injury. The Endeavour towed the steamer to the Dreadnought hospital-ship, where the engineer was taken on board, lie died the following day. Between six and seven o'clock on Saturday morning, two barges, laden with coals, which were proceeding up the River to the distillery at Wandsworth, encountered a very heavy gale near Battersea Bridge. The sails of both vessels were blown into the water, and shortly after the barges went down. Two lightermen at Battersea rendered timely assistance, and the three bargemen were saved.
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