At the Hatton Garden Office, on Tuesday, a poor, miserable
crea- ture was committed to the House of Correction for ten days, as a punishment for selling Cleave's Weekly Gazette and the Twopenny Dis- patch. Mr. Laing said to Dean, the prosecutor, and Inspector of
Stamps- " It is very strange that you bring forward such persons for selling unstamped papers. Why not prosecute the parties from whom they are purchased ?" Dean—" That is impossible, your Worship ; they are not printed in London now. We have done every thing in our power by taking down their presses and seizing their types, but they have devised means of defeating our objects."
Mr. Laing—" How is that ?"
Dean—" Why, your Worship, they are now printed and published in Man- chester, Leeds, and Birmingham, and forwarded in great numbers every week to the Metropolis, where they get numbers of persons who are glad to sell
them."
At the Thames Police-office, on Tuesday, John Brown, the mate
of a Newcastle vessel, was proved to have kicked and beaten a poor lad who was an apprentice on board. In his defence, he said that when the boy was complained of for getting at the salt meat at Stockton. "he became very impudent, and did not speak properly."
Mr. Combe--" What were the bad words be used ?" Mate—" He said he could not help it, and that was not proper language for the chief officer of a collier, and so I kicked him."
Mr. Combe—" That insulted your dignity, of course ?" Mate—." Why, yes, it did ; and I kicked him." Mr. Broderip—" How many kicks did you give him ?"
Mate—" I am sure I don't know, Sir. I did not count them. He is a very slow boy, and told me he did not know where the strop was." Mr. Broderip—" And because he is not quick enough you accelerate him with kicks ci posteriori," Mate—" I should he sorry to lift a hand to him." Mt. Broderip—" Don't talk that way, Sir ; you have lifted ycur foot often enough to that poor boy."
The captain of the vessel tried to screen the mate—." the boy was slow, but honest arid civil."
Mr. Combe—" But we eaouot suffer all the slow boys on board ship to be kicked. That won't remedy a natural fault. This mate of yours has a very dignified idea of himself. Because the boy said I can't help it,' Le terms that setting up impudence.' "
The Captain—" But the boy is rather dull."
Mr. Broderip—" And he is enlightened with a kick. The mate, it was evi- dent, was a man of such violent temper that he was quite unfit to command. It would have served him right if some one had kicked him as he had kicked the boy."
The mate was ordered to pay 40s. and costs ; and the captain pro- rnised to protect the boy from ill-usage.
Previous page
