POLICE OF LONDON.

Several cases of assault were heard at the Police Offices, on Saturday, which disclosed some revolting scenes of depravity. In one, it appeared, that a husband had, by ill usage, compelled his wife and illegitimate daughter to prefer a residence in a brothel to his roof. The daughter swore that he had struck her in the brothel, where he found them; and had threatened to cut her throat. He was bound over to keep the peace. The young woman is scarcely seventeen years of age. From the names mentioned in the course of the examination, it appears that all the parties are respectably con- nected.

Another case was the complaint of an unhappy female against a man in whose house she resided, for having struck her because she had been the means of preventing another female from residing there, who had been com- pelled to a life of wickedness by her husband, in order to supply him with money. The brothel keeper was sent to prison, in default of bail, for the assault.

A professor of languages, and a teacher of music, were the parties in a third case. The latter wished the magistrate to interpose the authority of

the law, in order to prevent the former from executing a threat of vengeance against him. It turned out, that the complainer had grievously outraged the feelings of the defendant. He had been introduced into his house as a friend ; and in return for this kindness, had seduced his wife, and prevailed upon her to elope with him. The gentlemen bad met casually in the street, and a scuffle ensued between them, which was the immediate cause of the appli- cation. The entreaties of the complainer to have the defendant held to bail proved unavailing, as he had not come into court with clean hands ; and he departed inech disconcerted at the decision. James Abbott is now fully cormnitted for trial on the capital charge of at- tempting to kill his wife.

A case of pauperism was heard at the Mansion House on Monday, which seems without a parallel. A young man, named Webb, of respectable ap- pearance, came to complain against the churchwardens and overseers of the parish of St. Mary Woolchurch, Lombard-street, for having refused to give him the means of supporting nature. The vestry-clerk stated that the pauper was the son of the Reverend Mr. Webb, who, according to the applicant's description, was a minor canon of St. Paul's, a minor canon of Westminster, vicar of Langley, in Buckinghamshire, minister of the Chapel Royal at Windsor, and of the Chapel Royal at St. James's, and was also possessed of a living in Hertfordshire, from all of which situations he derived ail income of about 20004 a year. About two years since, the young man had applied for relief; and at that time, the parish officers wrote to the reverend gentle- man respecting his son's condition. He however declined to give him the slightest relief, as he had once got him into a good situation, which the lad had lost through his own misconduct ; and he (the father,) had other family claims, to which he was obliged to give attention. It appeared from a con- versation which followed between the pauper and Sir Peter Laurie, that he had once been a clerk in the banking-house of the Messrs. Everetts; and that the misconduct of which he had been guilty, was his having concealed from his employers that a person in their service had taken some money. For this he was discharged ; but so little imputation was cast upon his honesty, that he had occasionally been employed in the office in a sub- ordinate situation. He had repeatedly written to his father to do something for him, in order to prevent him from resorting to any desperate expedient to preserve his existence; but his father had not given him a farthing, and had even refused to pay him 30/. which he had lent him when he took the bene- fit of the insolvent act in 1821, by which he "white-washed" debts to the amount of 3000/. The vestry-clerk stated, that the reverend clergyman had been written to since his son had made this second application. He had taken no notice of the appeal; and the young man must either be supported by the parish, or die of hunger. The applicant said that he had tried every means to get into bread ; and lie had again written to his father, that if lie did not do something for him, he must either go to the parish, or do worse. Still his father turned a deaf ear to his son's applications. Sir Peter --" To what do you attribute this strange perversion of nature ? Is the reverend gentleman penurious ?" Pauper—" No: the reverse. He keeps an establishment, and is expensive in his habits, I believe ; but I know but little about him, not having seen him for six years." Sir Peter—" Has he no feeling for your forlorn condition ?" Pauper—" Not the most dis- tant ; no more than if I never existed. He never casts a thought upon me." Sir Peter—" In all my experience I never met with any thing like this. And this man is the religious instructor of the people ! He abandons • his child to misery, and the temptations which every where assail poverty in this city. He will not forgive in his son that which those who suffered by the offence, and were strangers, pardoned. He will look on while his flesh and blood perishes in the streets, and he receives his 2,000/. a-year, and comforts himself in the reflection that he is a minister of the gospel ! The picture is frightful." The vestry clerk said he supposed that another application would be attended Att. Sir Peter—" I dare say it will. It will probably be made through a more commanding channel. It is rather too much for poor persons, who can scarcely pay the rates, to be supporting the son of a clergyman who has such pluralities." The vestry clerk—" We shall con- tinue to assist him until we hear from his father.' Sir Peter—" Certainly, do. You will hear from his father, and his father will, depend upon it, hear from you. If he have no touch of humanity, he probably has some sense of shame." Mr. Holder—" The parish can compel him to assist his son, and I think they must compel him." The parties then left the room. George Curtis was committed for trial, on the charge of having swindled several individuals out of sets of horse-harness which he obtained on false pretences.

William Smith, an aged pauper, complained at the Mansion-house, on Tuesday, against the overseers of St. Stephen's parish, Coleman-street, for having refused to assist him. The old man, it appears, is entitled to a large property which is at present locked up in the Court of Chancery ; and no part of it can he get to relieve his necessities, though his claim is considered good,—he having been able to establish his claims, with the assistance of Mr. Denman, to the satisfaction of a Jury at Warwick. The case was ulti- mately thrown into Chancery; but when it would get out, the pauper said, the Lord only knew. He had petitioned Lord Lyndhurst, but had re- ceived no answer. The Lord Mayor recommended the parish officers to in- quire into the case, for their own sakes. The pauper's immediate wants are to be supplied.

William Mathews, an old man, was committed to take his trial, for having uttered bad money. A good many counterfeit shillings and one counterfeit sovereign were found upon him. The die was that of Buckley, who was hanged at Horsemonger-lane.

John Jordan a pensioner, charged with having attempted to poison his

wife, was on Jordan, committed from Union-hall for trial.

Joseph Hunton, merchant, who last week absconded under suspicion of having committed several extensive forgeries, was apprehended on Monday night. Every possible exertion had been made to obtain a clue to his ret:eat by Mr. Gates, solicitor to the Committee of Bankers for the Prevention of Frauds and Forgeries ; and on inquiry at the Post-office of Portsmouth, it was found, by the gentleman who had been sent there, that a little man, under the name of Wilkinson, 'had called for letters from London ; and further, that this person had sailed in the Leeds packet for New York, which vessel was beating about Spithead detained by adverse winds. Hunt, an officer of that station, disguised himself as a seaman ; and then, along with a legal gentleman, went on board the Leeds, which was lying about ten miles off. hint got on board just as the vessel was about to sail, and said he had a let- ter forillr. Wilhinson, the Portsmouth merchant. Hunton, who expected a letter from his wife (and were it not for an interchange of written communi. cations, he never would have been apprehended), desired that the messen- ger should " come below" to him. Hunt obeyed ; and the moment Hunton opened the letter, which was superscribed by Mr. Gates, and contained no- thing he turned pale, and trembled excessively. It was unnecessary to tell him ;hat he must leave the vessel. He was not able to utter a word, but he rose and followed the officer, and was immediately conveyed to the shore. It. appears that Hunton had originally intended to go to France. He had pro- cured a passport in his own name, and had gone on board a steam-vessel which was ready to sail for Boulogne ; but he soon after left the steamer, having first circulated some religious tracts amongst the passengers and crew, to some of the latter of whom he read a lecture upon the abomination of swearing. He had appeared on board the steamer in his Quaker's dress, but he immediately afterwards changed his dress. He put on a light frock of green, a pair of light gray pantaloons, a black stock, and a foraging cap, and entered the Leeds packet, then lying near the Tower. In this vessel he was in the Thames white a strict search was going forward, and he was entered as a passenger under the name and designation of Mr. Wilkinson, merchant, of Portsmouth. Hunton was brought to the Mansion-house on Wednesday, for examination ' • but the proceedings were private. It is understood that only two cases of forgery were entered into,— the one an acceptance for 43/. 9s., and the other a bill for 179/. 10s. It turned out, unluckily for the prisoner, that the gentleman in Abingdon, who was alleged to have accepted the bills, had died ten days before the date of one of them, and three weeks before the date of the other. These charges were deemed sufficient grounds on which to warrant the committal of the prisoner for further examination on the 17th. Joseph Hunton commenced business some years ago as a slopseller at Yarmouth, where he was very prosperous. He embarked more extensively in business in the metropolis, and is said to have realized at one time upwards of 30,000/. He, however, launched, it is asserted, very extensively into the Stock Exchange specula- tions, and shared in the general calamity of Stock Exchange adventurers. He letd, however, maintained a character for integrity, and was extremely active and clever at business. His melancholy appearance, in conjunction with the report that he has a wife and twelve children, made him an object of great commiseration. Upon his person no more money was found than 100 sovereigns.

Francis Sparrow applied to Mr. Minshull, at Bow-street, on Wednesday, to obtain advice under circumstances which sufficiently develope the discre- ditable and fraudulent means pursued by some parties to obtain signatures to Anti-Catholic petitions. Towards the end of July Sparrow saw the follow- ing advertisement in a newspaper :—" Wanted, several active young men in a respectable employment, at a salary of 30a. per week ; thirty pounds to be deposited ; address to No. 52, Aldermanbury."—He determined to apply for one of the situations, and, on going to 52, Aldermanbury, he saw Mr. Earle and Mr. Leach, who said that they were the parties who had adver- tised. They informed him that they were the agents of an Anti-Catholic Society, established in the metropolis, at the head of which were the Duke of Cumberland, the Duke of Newcastle, Lords Kenyon and Farnham, and the Marquis of Chandos, who was the Secretary and Cashier. They also stated, that a fund of 8000/. had been already subscribed for the purpose of adopting means to assist in the prevention of any further concessions being granted to the Catholics. He asked what would be the nature of his em- ployment, if he should be engaged? and he was informed that a splendid typographical work, with wood-cuts, had been ptinted at the expense of the Society, in the body of which was printed a petition to the King against granting further political rights to the Roman Catholics, and his employment would be to circulate the petition among the booksellers of the metropolis, for which he would be paid 30s. per week: After hesitating for some weeks he at last paid the 301.; and had been employed about ten weeks without being able to obtain either one farthing towards his salary, or a six- pence towards his expenses of travelling. Sparrow here unfolded a roll of paper, and handed one of the petitions to the Magistrate. It is published by Horatio Phillips (son of Sir Richard Phillips), bookseller, of Charing-cross ; and bears very much the resemblance of a Christ- mas piece, being decorated with coloured wood-cuts, intended to carica- ture the Roman Catholic worship. His business was to sell these petitions ; and she other young men, who had also deposited 30/. each, were em-

ployed in the same way, in different parts of England. Neither one or other of them had received a farthing for their services; and some of them had been reduced to beggary and starvation by the conduct of Messrs. Earle and Leach. One of them, a Quaker named Balance, was reduced to the greatest distress, having actually lived for three days upon a few ginger- bread cakes. Another agent had the misery of seeing his wife and a family of young children almost dying through want, and stretched upon a sick bed before him. Some of them travelled down to Scotland in search of signa- tures to this petition, for which purpose they were furnished with skins of parchment ; but they were generally unsuccessful, and equally unfortunate in their endeavours to sell the ornamented printed petition, the price of which

was Is. 6d. They were authorized to represent themselves as agents of the

London Society, instituted to prevent further concessions to the Catholics; but he could not say whether Earle and Leach had the authority of the above-named noblemen to act as they did. These persons went to different parts of the country to hold meetings for the purpose of procuring signa- tures. In Harwich they had met with great success, but in Chelmsford they were very coolly received. Sparrow further stated, that besides the 301., they owed him 20/. for wages and travelling expenses. If it had been true, as they said, that they had a fund of 80001., he thought that he should have been paid ; but in place of that, he found that neither the engraver, the printer, nor the paperseller had been paid. Mr. Minshull expressed an opinion that the case was one of gross fraud, but he feared that from the nature of

the applicant's engagement, he would have to apply to an attorney to at-

tempt the recovery of the 30/. The fraud having been committed within the Lord Mayor's jurisdiction, Sparrow was in the first place recommended to apply to his Lordship. Sparrow said that lie should act upon the advice. Edward Cooper, the Dowager Lady Nepean's coachman, was committed to Newgate for trial, on Wednesday, on the charge of having embezzled va- rious sums of money intrusted to him to pay for corn, hay, and straw for the horses, and for which he regularly produced receipts: these turned out to be forgeries.

Edward Armstrong, mate of the ship Kerswell, was brought to the Thames Police office, on Wednesday, charged with cruelty to an apprentice, by which he was deprived of his reason. The unhappy youth whom the pr- was charged with having so cruelly treated was brought into the Justice- room, and presented a most afflicting appearance. He burst into loud fits of

laughter, and shook his clenched fist at the prironer. It appeared that the prisoner was much in the habit of beating the lad either with a rope or a broom handle, though he did his duty well. When they were at the Cape of Good Hope, Rowland and another lad were on a stage scraping the ship's side. The prisoner looked over the bow, and said to Rowland with a curse, " I'll make you scrape." He then went over the bow on the stage, and taking hold of Rowland, flung him into the sea. The boy was however res- cued by the other seamen ; but from that time his reason forsook him. The Magistrate observed that the charge was one of a. most serious nature ; and the bail he required for the prisoner's appearance to take his trial at the Admiralty Sessions was 80q1. At the Mansion-house, on Thursday, a man upwards of seventy years of age, charged the officers of Bishopsgate parish with having refused to sup- port him and his wife, who is upwards of sixty. The applicant is a specu- lator in wives. The moment he loses one he looks out for another, if he can get any parish to portion off one of its female paupers to him. The fortune they give is 2/. or 31.; and thus they are relieved of a pauper, as the parish to which the man belongs is obliged to support both. This was the appli- cant's fourth wife. Before the third wife was in her grave the present was

engaged. He had seen her but one day, and they were married the next. The money they got from the parish was all spent in gin and beer. The pa- rish had buried three of his wives, and they were in some trouble lest they should have to bury this one also, and then the venerable pauper would be off in search of another. Sir Peter Laurie advised them to put them both in the workhouse, and employ them there. The applicant with an oath de- clared that be would not go to the workhouse, though they might take his wife there or anywhere else. Francis Sparrow appeared at the Mansion-house, on Thursday, to ask ad- vice in the matter of his complaint against Earle and Leach ; but he was ad- vised to appeal to a civil court for the recovery of his 301., and the wages due to him.

[Mr. Earle has published a letter in the Times, contending that all his dealings with Sparrow and the others employed in hawking petitions had been fair and honourable ; and that he had asked Sparrow for his account, which he wishes him to produce ; as, though a considerable loser by these petitions, he is ready to fulfil every " honourable" engagement.] The driver of a hackney-coach was adjudged to pay 4/. 7s. damages, and expenses, for injuries done to a cabriolet by his having wantonly driven his coach against it.

A case of some hardship was heard at Marlborough Street on Thursday. Mrs. Ann Clark, a widowed female of respectable appearance, who has kept a reputable lodging-house in Great Pulteney-street, Golden-square, was charged with illegally pawning various articles of property belonging to Madame Read, a French lady who occupies the upper part of her house, and with assaulting her female servant. Madame Read, a lady of much personal beauty and elegant appearance and manners, stated to the magistrate in French and partly in English, that she has been for some months lodging at Mrs. Clarke's house, but of late she bad reason to believe that Mrs. Clarke was in very embarrassed circumstances, and by the advice of some of her friends, she was induced to inquire of Mrs. Clarke if she kept the landlord's rent regularly paid, etherwise a great deal of valuable property which Madame Read had in the house might be in danger. It turned out that Mrs. Clarke owed the landlord 40/. She said she could make up 21:11.; and to relieve her from her embarrassments, Madame Read advanced the other 204 Mrs. Clarke, however, left the landlond unpaid, and applied the money to another purpose. The consequence was, that the whole of Mrs. Read's property had been seized ; and was about to be sold, if she did not pay the rent and expenses. There were no fewer than forty-eight executions at present against Mrs. Clarke. The magistrate said, that he did not see how she could relieve herself without paying off the distress warrant. Mrs. Clarke had also pawned several articles of value belonging to her and another lodger. For so doing, she was convicted in several penalties, and locked up for want of bail. Her servant was also sent to the house of cor- rection for a month, for the assault upon Madam Read's servant.

George Croxford, dealer ia Leghorn hats, Eathhone-place, was fined 5/. for a cruel assault upon his wife. On the occasion which gave rise to the com- plaint, he had beat and ill-treated her for nearly three hours.

John Jenkins Large, master of the Hero steam-vessel, was brought to the Thames Police-office, on Thursday, on a peace warrant, charging him with having violently threatened Mr. William Biddulph, the managing proprietor of the Sophia Jane steamer. The latter is a rival vessel to dravesentl ; and all kinds of threats have been held out to prevent her navigating the river. The defendant had repeatedly sworn he would sink the Sophia Jane, and threatened violence to Biddulph and the Crew. Last Sunday, he drove her close in shore, by running right upon her quarter; and on the next day he stove her larboard-quarter, and broke away all her bulwarks, &c. ; placing in actual peril the lives of all the passengers on board. The evidence was rather contradictory; but the Magistrate ended the matter by binding both parties in sureties of 10001. each, for seven years, to keep the peace and na- vigate their vessels without danger to the public.

George Henry Ellis, who described himself as a sch000lmaster and occa- sional preacher to a Dissenting congregation at Peckham, was fined at Union Hall for having been found drunk and disorderly in the street.

William Parr Pope was some days since taken to Bow Street, on a charge of having defrauded Mr. Westley, and several other newsvenders in town, of money which he had fraudulently obtained in their names from their custo- mers in the country. He was to have been brought up yesterday, and several persons attended to prefer other charges against him. The prisoner, how- ever, had been sent off to Warwick in custody, and it is expected he will be there tried in the course of next week, Mr. Westley's evidence being sent down. He is reported to have a startling plurality of wives, and it is ex- pected that a detainer will be lodged against him for his extraordinary pro- pensities to polygamy.

Albemarle Street, opposite Grillon's Hotel, was yesterday completely blocked up by a mob of idlers waiting to see the young Queen of Portugal. On application to Marlborough Street Police-Office, some officers were sent to disperse the crowd.

An officer employed at Mr. Verey's, whose house, notwithstanding the death of his child, had also attracted a crowd, brought in a fellow, charged with creating a disturbance before the door; and the Magistrate held him to bail.

William Hackett, a very young map, was yesterday held to bail from Union Hall, for an unnatural assault upoe his mother, whom he had ruined by his profligacy. Mr. Horatio Phillips, bookseller, attended yesterday at Bow Street, and explained to the Magistrate that- he had nothing more to du with Earle and his Anti-Catholic petitions, than his having undertaken to become the pub- lisher, on the usual trade terms, without reference to political feelings. He had been told by Earle, that the Duke of Cumberland, and the other noble- men mentioned by Sparrow, were friendly to his schemes; and it was on these representations principally, that he was induced to undertake the pub- lication. He expressed his readiness, if Earle should be indicted for a con- spiracy, to come forward and state all he knew.