The Press. — London, England, 1853-07-30 00:00:00

298 tuting at once his justification for much singular conduct, and his title to a very respectable amount of property. As the actual character of these docu ments depended upon the testimony of Miss Burdett Coutts, and as the insolvent insisted on having the personal evidence of that lady, the case was adjourned to Wednesday, when, although the customary for mality of a subpoena had been omitted, Miss Coutts was in attendance, accompanied by Mr. Marjoribanks, a partner in the bank, the Earl of Harrowby, and Lord Charles Wellesley. A long and rambling exa mination was then commenced by the insolvent, whose object, if his mind can be considered suet. ciently sane to have one, seemed merely to be the annoyance and mortification of his victim : Miss Coutts,beingexaminell by the ineolvent, said she remem bered r u ing to Harrogate in pol, preirionst to which she had received two letters signed " Richard Dunn," which she took no notice of, as she did nut know the writer. When at Harrogate she scut fur Mr. Marjoribanks to come down to release her from the annoyance she endured from the insolveet, who took up his lodgings at the same hotel, and when she quitted that place and went into private lodgings he was so annoying that the house door was obliged to he kept barred. She also appealed to the Rey. Mr. Rhodes, a magistrate, and the insolvent was taken Into custody upon her complaint. and committed. She had never seen the insolvent until she saw him at Harrogate. After he was committed to prison for animal& at the petty sessions she came to London but immediately after hi. release his annoyance re commenced, and she was obliged to keep a policeman constantly in the house for a considerable time. She could not go to any pub he place for divine worship, but was obliged to attend a private chapel in the vicinity of the house, and even there she heard the insolvent bad attempted to enter, but was prevented by the inter ference of the clergyman. She had never written a lettter to the insolvent in her life, but had received many letters from him, most of which, after she was acquainted with his handwriting, she forwarded unread to her attorney. The alleged authority to draw upon Coutts' bank for an indeft nite amount was placed in Miss Otiutts' hands, but she denied all knowledge of it. The insolvent then read a her of letters written by him to the witness, in which he alluded to other letters received by him, which he believed to be in the handwriting of Miss Coutts, and stated that he had acted bond Me upon a belief of the genuine ness of those which he had received. Mr. Marjorihankis said the insolvent called upon him at the bank in 15411, and showed the alleged authority of Miss Coutte to draw upon the bank in her name. He said it was not that lady's writing, and called in a clerk, who continued the statement. In solvent called afterwards with a bill of exchange tilled up fur 100.0001. and saw Sir E. Antrobust Witness joined them, and told insolvent that he had no chance of getting payment, and re quested him to leave the place as goon as possible. Mr. Dunn appended to these examinations divers re marks, c ,ntending that his own conduct throughout was fair and gentlemanly, that he had acted under the impression of the perfect authenticity both of the verses and other letters, and that he was himself the most injured party, having had his professional pros pects ruined and his character impugned, and having been obliged to appear once before the Court of Bankruptcy, besides enduring on the whole several years' imprisonment. The case at six o'clock was again postponed. A SERlor Cit knits OF AssAl'l.T, whereon was founded a claim for 500/. damages from a clergyman of the Church of England, was tried on Saturday last at the Exeter Assizes. The plaintiff in the case was Mr. William Creed, a gentleman residing at Abbots kerswell, in Devonshire, and the defendant the Rev. George Ingram Fisher, vicar of that parish, who, as was stated by the plaintiff's counsel and witnesses, being a " high churchman," was very unpopular among a considerable section of his parishioners : The plaintiff was an active teacher in the parish sundaY school, and exerted himself zealously in the educe!' al work of the neighbourhood. The defendant, however, made seine objections to the teaching in the school, and a quarrel ensued between the parties. Plaintiff, on his side, disapproved of the innovations in the church, and on one ecestaion walked out when public baptism walls being administered in the middle of divine service. Mr. Creed hail afterwards mime conversation with the vicar on the subject, who accused hint of " being no churchman," to which that gentleman replied that he held the same views as the Arch bishop of Canterbury. Mr. Fisher then said " the Archbishop of Canterbury is 1111 chureltman." Mr. Creed said, "Do yon mean to tell me that the strelthishop of your plm+ is no churl-intim?" Mr. Fisher thereupon shook his stick menacingly at Mr. Creed. Subsequently there was a dispute about a tithe apportionment map which Sir. Creed's brother kept. The reverend gentleman wanted to get. this map into his possession. and, although two . thirds of the parishioners signed a memorial against it. the defendant, in his applieation to quarter mntions, stated that its removal was prayed for by the general voiee of the parish. The plaintiff thereupon wrote a letter to defendent, telling him that ' he felt called on in the strongest terms to reprobate so gross a !Misrepresentation. an it was calculated to deceive the court, to defeat the ends of justice, and to thwart the almost unanimous wish of all interested in the matter." To this letter the defendant did not reply: and 1111 the 24th of February the plaintiff met him, and asked hint if he had received his letter which he did not deism to answer. The plaintiff said, "If you do not answer it. I will nuke public your statements in court." Defendant replied, " You will say I ant a liar, I suppose?" Plaintiff tattd. 'lln questionebly l AWL without you give me some explenation." The defendant made no answer, but struek the plaintiff a violent blow with a stick, which stunned hint. He felt himself reeling, and grasped a tree. When conecimumess returned, defendant was standing besitie him, striking at his head with a portion of the stick. A ft er the defendant had broken his stick about the plaintiff. he struck him violently with his lists, and then took hint by the collar. dragged hint off the tree, and struck him in the side as a finishing blow. The plaintiff did not strike the de fendant again. He suffered hin his head, and a surgeon attended hint for a week afterwards. The counsel for the defendant repressed his regret that his client should have allowed Isis temper to get the mastery of his remain ; but con tended that the conduct of the plaintiff had been irritating , and that much provocation lied been given. The jury deliberated for half an hour, sod then gave a verdict for the plaintiff—damages , 300/. SOME EXTF.SSIYE EissEzzi.v.mvsys had been com mitted on the Great Northern R a il wa y Company by John Hutchinson, a clerk in their employ. He was THE PRESS. employed in the " coal department," and his duty comprised the collection of money due from cus tomers for coals sent out. Three several cases, in which the prisoner had converted to his own use sums of 221., 271., and 301., thus collected on behalf of the company, were charged and proved against him on his trial at the Middlesex Sessions on Monday. Defalcations of similar nature, and to a far larger amount, were at the same time stated to have been discovered, although legal proof was offered only of the selected instances of misdoing. By way of defence the prisoner gave in a written paper, in which he at once confessed and extenuated his crime, to the fol lowing effect.:— " I acknowledge with sorrow the charges brought against me, but I humbly beg the merciful consideration of the court for the following reasons:—l formerly for many years carried on a re spectable business as a wine-merchant in trutched-friars, Lon don. About eight years since I had the misfortune to become bankrupt, but 1 obtained my certificate. I was unable to procure a situation, and was out of employment fur a great length of time. 1 had a wife and six children to support, and I unavoidably con tracted many debts to procure them subsistence. About two years since I was engaged as clerk in the c oal department of the company (G.N.IL) at a salary of lOW. per annum—a sum quite inadequate to pay house-rent and taxes, to maintain myself, my wife, anti six children—to educate the latter, and to present such a respectable appearance as became a clerk of the company. So soon as I obtained this situation my creditors became very mo im portunate, and I was tempted, and dist appropriate thismoney towards liquidating their demands. This crime I sincerely de lore. In consequence of my exertions m y salary last for the three months increased to MB. per annum, and I solemnly assure the court that my intention was to replace any deficiency out of my increased income. I have endeavoured in every way (except in this instance) to promote the interests of the company, and have brought by my personal exertions many hundreds of po Is into itstreassury. The anguish of my mind occasioned by my remoras has deprived me of reason, so that I was not fit to be tried at the last sessions. I humbl y beseech the court, for the sake of my wife and my six innocent children, to extend its mercy towards me , and to suffer me, at its own pleasure, to en deavour to regain my lost position in society. I have many friends who have promised to attend to bear testimony to my former good character." The prosecutors' counsel, however, showed that some of the prisoner's frauds had been committed subsequently to the increase of his salary. The court, therefore, treated the offence as not only serious in character, but as testifying to much ingratitude on the part of the offender, who was con sequently sentenced to two years' imprisonment with hard labour. ABOUT THE USUAL NUMBER OF INSTANCES have occurred during the week in which men have ap peared at various police-courts charged with acts of violence and brutality towards their wives. As a spe cimen of the class, the following case, heard at Wor ship-street Office on Monday, must suffice for the present: — James Burton, working jeweller, living in Wslbrook-place, Hoxton,was accused of having cruelly ill-treated and threatened the life of his wife. On presenting herself in the witness-box, the complainant, whose eyes were shockingly blackened and swollen, and her face terribly disfigured, made an earnest appeal to the magistrate that she might bepermitted to abandon the charge, and, on being peremptorily required to disclose the facts of the case, gave her evidence with the greatest reluctance and hesitation, and exhi hited throughout a manifest disposition to shield the prisoner front the consequences of his brutal conduct towards her. It was at length elicited that for a long time past the prisoner had been in the habit of returning home every Saturday night in a state of intoxication, on which occasions he constantly subjected her to the most harsh and cruel treatment. About two o'clock on the preceding morning he cause home in his usual drunken condition, Mad on requesting him to furnish her with a portion of his wages for the purchase of food and other necessaries, he instantly knocked her down, and continued beating her about the head and different parts of her person until a policeman made his ap pearance and took him into custody. The complainant added that, notwithstanding his violent conduct towards her, he was a good husband in his sober moments, and she trusted the magis trate would deal leniently with him, as she Billy believed it was only in consequence of her own aggravating language that he at tacked her in this instance. The policeman said that, having been attracted by loud cries of "Murder!" to the house , on forcing open the door he found the prisoner brutally beating his wife, who was leaning against the wall in a state of exhaustion, with the blood streaming down her face. The imminent he presented himself at the door, the prisoner exclaimed, " Oh. you've got a policeman, have you? Then take that !•• and instantly struck her down by a heavy blow under the ear. Having been captured after much resistance, and while on his way to the station-house, the prisoner assailed his wife with threats and imprecations, and declared that he would murder her outright as soon as he was released from custody. and sen- Mr d }lmmix' , considered it a very aggravated case, tence the prisoner to Mx months in L ards } his of for anotheCorrection, and to find ball to keep the peace towards his wife r six months. THREE. FEMALE " FENCES" of notorious character, named Esther Tye, her daughter Ann, and Mrs. Anstey, were tried on Tuesday at the Middlesex Ses sions. Their indictment was laid on the charge of feloniously receiving a stolen pi ece of carpet, worth 3s. lid., and some beef, also stolen, worth Its. The evidence detailed at their trial, which originated with the parochial authorities of St. Luke's, revealed in a striking manner the system of temptation and train ing by which so many unhappy children in the me tropolis are gradually nurtured into a career of crime. The facts then disclosed were as follows : A poor Industrious woman, living in St. 'Luke's parish. died about Mx months since, leaving an orphan boy scarcely eleven years of age, placed in the workhouse for protection. About a month since the boy absconded, and it was not until a fortnight afterwards any intelligence could be obtained of him. when it was ascertained that he was to be found at a low house in the neigh bourhood of Whitecross-street• kept by the cider Tye. Being with some difficulty discovered and reclaimed, his statements re vealed the infamous system pursued by the prisoner Tye, who gave him his lodging. but he was to remunerate her for it by Bel. SATURDAY, ling to her all the articles he could steal from the neighbouring shopkeepers during the day. One of these depredations wu the case for which the prisoners were placed at the bar. MA said that he watt with two boys, called woes and "TM atalanse," who had belonged to Mrs. Tria Mese far lame dna shoo pow and lived by thieving, to a butcher's dap in Cogialhepimlia Islington, and having stolen a large gime of best trove the be web to Wile y , who put it bus his boodhossiiKsiatkagali set off to Mrs. Tye's den with trait plunder. hest big produced, a haggling took Ores, and eventually a bargain was struck for the sum of 2 s. for the beef, which she perfectly well knew at the time was stolen. In the case of the carpet he said he went with his tutors and companions to the shop of a broker in Gulden-lane, where the piece of carpet was hanging up for sale. Having got the carpet down the other boys took possession of it, and at once proceeded with it to Mrs. Tye's, but as it was not of a very good quality she refused to buy it, and they then went with it to the house of Mrs. Austey, who shortly after went with it to a " dolly" or " leaving shop" (a sort of unlicensed pawn ' broker's), and on her return kite handed them sixpence for it, which was spent among them for victuala. Some further proof being given, and the carpet iden tified, a verdict of Guilty was returned against all the prisoners. The police then gave in their testimony as to previous character and conduct : Sergeant Harvey said he bad known Mrs. Tye and her daugh ter for the last ten years, the elder having been tried at Newgate, and had been several times in custody. She kept a house where she sold illicit spirits when t the to public-houses were closed, and nter. she kept persona to go ou indu drunken se men to e Having supplied them with this strong liquor, they then took advantage of their situation by robbing them of anything of value they might chance to have in their possession. The husband was now undergoing a sentence of imprisonment for these of. fences. With respect to the prisoner Anatey, although be knew of no charge of felony against her, yet he had known her for the last four years as one of tho most drunken and reckless charac ters that was to be found in Whitecross-street, or its neighbour hood. The elder Tye was sentenced to two years' imprison ment, her daughter to eighteen months', and Ansley to one year, in each case with hard labour. SEVERAL BOOKbELLERS' Emmovis have been lately convicted of robbing their masters of newly published works, which they sold at low prices to pri • vote purchasers or the secondhand bookstalls. On one charge of this nature being investigated, in a case where Mr. Murray was the sufferer, it was stated that this species of plunder had been organised into a system, and was practised to a considerable extent. On Monday last one of the "organisers" was brought up at Guildhall, having been detected in his career 01' depredation. The prisoner was named Emery, and employed as a porter by Messrs. Hamilton and Co., publishers, in the " Row," but, as it was dis covered, also kept a coffee. house, though not with the design of carrying on a legitimate business, the prin cipal purpose for which the place was used being that of supplying a rendezvous and mart for porters and other servants who had robbed their employers. In this case, suspicion being once excited, a detective officer was engaged and a trap laid. Certain books were ordered at Emery's "house of call," and marked copies being placed in his way were by him transferred to the disguised policeman, and duly paid for with marked moey. In this manner five or six acts of theft were traced to the prisoner, and selected out of a long list as being sufficient for the purposes of justice. He stands remanded, but will be committed for trial_ on the formal completion of the evidence against him. A CHARGE OF FELONY, committed under circum stances which induced the counsel for the prisoner to plead insanity in his defence, was tried on Tues day at Shrewsbury. Richard Crosse was postmaster at Whitehurch, Salop, and in April last purloined, on two successive days, letters addressed respectively to the London and County and Whitchnrch Banks, and containing between them some 2,0001. in notes. He omitted, however, to stop the letters of advice which as usual were transmitted by the same post, and nevertheless paid away some of the stolen notes to various tradesmen in the town. One of these notes, accordingly, came to he presented at the very bank to which it pr perly belonged, on the same day that it had been missed, and the clerk recognising it as belonging to the series described in the letter of advice, but never received, instituted some inquiries, which resulted in the apprehension and trial of the postmaster. Being found Guilty, he was sentenced to ten years' transportation, the judge reserving for ano ther authority to determine upon the state of his mind. AN ATTEMFT AT MURDER, by administering poison, was charged against a lad of twelve years old at Marlborough Police Court on Tuesday. The prisoner, named Dyson, was page in a family residing in Howland-street, Fitzroy-square, and the person he was accused of trying to poison was a female servant in the same house. Having suspected him of mixing deleterious substances with her beer and sugar, this servant at length brought up for her master's inspec tion a cup of tea in which she be imagine to d that h poison had been infused; and, this proving te case, a search was made, which resulted in the discovery of a packet containing sug ar of lead in the lad's posses • sion. He thereupon confessed his crime, and begged forgiveness. do motive was assigned for his crimi nal acts ; and. when examined, he offered no defence, but stood blubbering at the bar. He was remanded under the suspicion of partial insanity.