The Press. — London, England, 1856-11-15 00:00:00

NOVEMBER 15, 1856. might be a fortnight or three weeks after the Sunday that Pierce and I went down. I think we had seen Burgess at Bern's, when Burgess cane in by accident, not by appoint ment. It was stated what we prcposed to go and do, and it was stated it was all right if we succeeded. We all Mined in the conversation. Pierce and I went to Dover in pursuance of the arrangement. Burgess was, I believe, on the train we went by, but lam nut sure. It was a day train. Pierce and I went to a house called the Rose. I don't think we went to any other house. We had tea and supper. I don't know whether we slept there or whether we wont over to Folkestone that night. I don't think we saw Burgess at Dover on this occasion. We walked over the heights between Dover and Folkestone. T went to the town station and waited for the arrival of the Boulogne boat. We watched, and saw Ledger and Chapman come out of the office. They went into the passengers' baggage room to attend to their duty. Pierce went inside, and to the cupboard, and I watched at the door. Pierce unlocked the cupboard door, the key of which was in it, and he brought the key of the bullion chest to me. I took an im pression in wax, and the key was put back again in its place, and we came up to London that day or the next. The keys had now to be made. Agar had them made in blank, and filed them into shape himself. Then, with the connivance of Burgess, the guard, he made several journeys up and down to Folkestone and back, secreting himself in Burgess's van, where the safe was kept, in order to fit the keys accurately to the lock. After some time this was achieved : We then talked of the best plan of completing the robbery, and it was arranged that we should get some shot and place in bags, to make up the weight of the gold that we abstracted from the safe. We were to buy about two hundred-weight of shot to make up the weight of the gold, about 12,0001. in value. Pierce mentioned the two hun dredweight of shot at that meeting. The proposition was agreed to. We expected to get 12,0001. in gold, and the sr/eight of the shot was to correspond with the weight of the „old we took away. Pierce and I bought the shot at the shot tower adjacent to Ilungerford suspension-bridge. I stood outside. Pierce brought one bag to me at the gate of the factory—a carpet bag—which I put over my shoulder, and he brought the other carpet bag. I should think there was about fifty-six pounds' weight in each bag. We then proceeded over the bridge to Charing cross, where we got into an omnibus with the bags, and went to the house which I was living at at Shepherd's bush. Blue duck for shot-bags was bought at Shoolbred's, four leather courier bags were ordered and bought at the leather-seller's at the corner of Drury-lane and Great Queen street, and the carpet bags were also purchased, and as soon as everything was prepared a rehearsal, which reminds us much of Mr. Fagin and his pupils, took place:— It was proposed to fill three carnet bags with hay, to put a portion of the shot in the middle, and the remainder of the shot was to be put in these courier bags and strapped round our bodies. I was to go to Pierce's Louse when the shot was put in the two courier bags, and take one of the carpet bags in my hand. Pierce was to do the same. wore a short cloak, and Pierce did the same. The bags were then filled up as I have already said. We walked out of Pierce's house, I being so equipped, to a coffee•shop. Pierce then left me there with the two large carpet bags, and I had the two courier bags on. He went back to his own house and put on the two courier hags, and joined me at the coffee-shop. I took my tea while he was gone. Pierce brought a cab, and I walked out with my bags on, and one carpet bag in my hand. Pierce went in and fetched the other carpet bag. The cloaks covered the courier bags, and we got into the same cab, and told the man to drive to St. Thomas's-street, Borough, which he did. I got out and left Pierce in the cab with all the bags, and I went up towards the station to meet Tester, between the first gate and the station on the incline. I met, I think, Tester the first time, and spoke to him. I then went back to the cab and found Pierce there as I had left him. I told him what had passed. I told Pierce that Tester had told me that the bullion was not going down that night, and we returned back in the same cab to the neighbourhood of Crown-terrace, but not close to Pierce's house. We stopped at a little distance off, and I took out the bags and walked to Pierce's house with them. We re peated this every night, I think, for better than a fortnight, till the robbery was committed. On one or two of these occasions Agar went to the station-master's door to see if the chest was outside ready for removal. Sometimes he met Burgess on the platform : An arrangement was made between me and Burgess about a si_mal. He was to raise his cap and wipe his face, if he had not an opportunity of speaking to me, and that was to be a signal that the gold was there. At last the gott-box was going down. Roguery in a cab, accompanied by its bags and shot, as usual reached the stopping-place, St. Thomas's-street, Borough : I got out and met Tester before I got to the station. He spoke to me, and I went back to the cab-door with him. He then said it was all right, and that we (Pierce and I ) were to go down. I got into the cab, anJ told the cabman to drive up to the Dover train station. Tester went to the station. I did not see him again. Going up to the station I put on my courier-bags, and at the station the porter took the carpet bags, and I got two first.class tickets for Dover. The porter took the carpet bags in the usual way to the guard of the train, which was Burgess. It was near the time of starting. I gave Pierce one of the tickets. I saw Mr. Wetherhead there, the present governor of New. gate ;he was station master at the time. The porter gave the two bags to Burgess, and told him they were for Dover. The bags were put into the van, which has a THE PRESS. communication with the guard's seat. Pierce went in a first•class carriage. I walked up towards the engine. did not see which carriage Pierce got into. Before the train started I watched my opportunity, when Mr. Wether• head turned his back, and got into the guard's•ran, where the bags had been placed. Burgess slammed to the door, and in a few minutes the train started. Burgess accompanied the train in the gold-van. Mar then details with much gusto what he saw and what he did upon his journey to Folkestone : I saw the two iron chests there which contained the bullion, and as soon as the train moved I got up and unlocked the chest. Burgess said there was upwards of 12,000/. in gold in the chest. I unlocked one chest with one of my keys. One lock was not in use. I found a wooden box, nailed round with some iron hopping. I had some boxwood wedges and a wooden mallet, and with these I forced open the box and drew the nails out. I found that the box contained gold bars. I emptied that box of the gold bars, and filled it up with the shot. I re placed the lesser nails, and fastened the box up again; but previous to finishing the box we had arrived at Red hill, and Pierce got out of his carriage and got into the van where I was. I did not see Tester at Redhill, but Burgess told me it was all right. It was arranged that Tester should take a load from Redhill to lighten our load. I placed one of the bags iu another courier-bag (a black one) which I brought from London with me, and which was brought by us in the cab. J gave that to Burgess to give to Tester. I did not see Tester. The train then proceeded with Pierce and Burgess and me in the van, and we proceeded to finish the filling up of the first box and putting in the nails. I then put it in the safe, and took out another box which was in the same safe and that contained gold coin, and we put that into one of the bags together with some coupons of a foreign railway, and we filled up that box with shot in the same way and placed it in the iron safe, and locked the sate up and left it as we found it. We then unlocked the second safe and found a larger box in it, with ropes at each end for handles, and which on being opened we found to contain what I believe was Californian gold in bars of a different colour. We took as much as we had brought shot to make up the weight, and we made up the weight, and replaced that box in the safe after we had fastened it up. We broke the seals of the boxes in opening them, and then we melted the wax and resealed the seals with some seals which Pierce had bought in Fetter lan,?.. They wet., steel seals which had been suspended in the window of a shop, and were bought by chance, as we thought that any letter •would do. I think there was only one lock to either safe. We fastened up the safe, and went on to Folkestone. We swept up the dust in the van. I saw the safe put on the platform in the usual way, and we went on to Dover. In due time they reached Dover, and got out as first class passengers:— We went to the baggage•van and asked for our carpet bags, and Burgess gave them to us, and we went to the hotel where the name of the owner is Divers, and we ordered some supper. We left Burgess in the train ; he did not come to the hotel. Pierce had a black wig and whiskers at that time, and a broad•brimmed hat. We had our supper. I know the waiter by sight. He asked me if we were going to stay there that night. I told him no ; that we had driven in from Deal, and I think I said I was going up by the mail-train. I think it started at two o'clock. We sent the waiter out to get some cigars and brandy in a soda. water bottle, so as to replace our canvas bags, which we Jid, and went to the railway terminus. We carried our bags ourselves. At the station a porter wanted to carry our bags, but I objected, and he politely forced it out of my hand and put it into the carriage. He asked us for our tickets, and we showed him two return•tickets from Ostend, which Pierce Raid he had got from a person named Groom. The porter made the obse-vation that no baggage had come through the customs that night. I told him it was the day before, and gave him a few still lings, and he did not trouble me with any other questions. That useful confederate, Burgess, was guard of the return-train, and of course be put " engaged " over one cariLige window:— We had the carriage to ourselves, and going along we opened the bags and threw the hay out of them, and placed the gold bars in two small hand carpet bags that had been inside the carpet bag. At one of the stations (I don't know the nem.) Pierce got out, and placed the two bags behind the door of the waiting room, and a porter spoke to him, and he said be was look ing for a friend, and he got into the train, and we came up to London. We got out of the train with one small bag containing the gold, and walked outside the gate of the station, when we got into a cab, and Pierce and I told the driver to the Great Western, and, getting out there, we told him that we had made a mistake. It was the Euston square station we wanted to go to, and he took us there; and we got out and went into a public-house, and then Pierce got another cab, and we got into that, and drove to Pierce's house, when we got out and walked to the house with the gold. Pierce went to Grove-street, to hire a horse and cart to remove the gold. I saw the horse and cart brought. All the gold coins had been sold at two places by Pierce before that. We had gone in a cab together to meet Tester in the Borough Market, and met him there, and he gave us the bar of gold we had given out the night before ; and Pierce and I then got into another cab, and drove to the side of the East India-house. I waited in the cub with the bar of gold, while Pierce went into a shop with part of the gold coins at the corner of St. Mary Axe. Pierce told me that he asked for English gold, and the man said he had not enough, but would draw a cheque, and send to the bankers for it; and he did so as Pierce told 1091 me. We then went in the cab up to the Haymarket, and Pierce took the remainder of the vine into a shop there. I think the name was Spielman They paid him there with a cheq:e on the Union Bank, and Pierce went in and got the money. It was upwards of 2001. We then chang.- that cab and got into another to Pierce's house, and tcalt the gold bar with us. At this stage of the proceedings the further hear ing of the case was postponed till Monday, the exa mination in chief of the witness not having been concluded. The most intense interest Wass manifested in the court during the examination. THE APPLICATION FOR A CRIMINAL INFORMATION against Mr. Under-Sheriff Rose, by Mr. Horry, barrister, was refused by Lord Campbell on Monday at the Queen's Bench. The case was one of libel, and the circumstances are these :—Mr. Horry, in September last, was engaged in the defence of a prisoner (Ruddiman) at the Central Criminal New Court. From the accidental omission of the case on the list of the trials for the day, Mr. Horry left the New Court after inspecting the list, and went to the Old Court. In the course of the afternoon Ruddi man was tried and convicted at the New Court. Mr. Horry, upon hearing this, searched for the prisoner's friends in order to return the fee. He could not find them, but he kept the guinea wrapt up in his pocket for some days, in the hope that they would come into court. The matter came to the ears of Mr. Under-Sheriff Rote, who in the lobby of the court characterised the affair as " a fraudulent transaction." The Times report gave an inaccurate version of the affair; Mr. Horry wrote on the 19th September to correct the reporter; on the 23rd Mr. Under-Sheriff Rose wrote a powerful letter support ing the report, and insinuating every base motive to Mr. Horry ; on the 24th Mr. Horry replied, denying on oath every statement in Mr. Rose's letter. It was on account of this reply that Lord Campbell refused the application, holding that to Mr. Horry's complete vindication of his conduct no denial had been given; Ma. 13ESSEMER'S PETITION that the Great Seal be affixed to his patent for an improvement in the process of smelting iron was heard by the Lord Chancellor on Tuesday. It appeared that Mr. Birch, the manager of the Bowling Ironworks, had entered a caveat against the sealing of the patent, oh the ground that the process had been already patentee by him, and had been in use for a year at the works of which he was the manager. The Lord Chancellor said that he had looked through the two specifica tions, and was of opinion the patent should be sealed, as there was a great deal in Bessemer's specification which was not to be found in Birch's. There would be no order as to the costs. RICHARD COPE, the journeyman watchmaker of Parliament-street, Who was so brutally beaten on the night of the 20th Oct. by the ticket.of-leard man, Marley, died on Sunday afternoon last. On Wednesday the inquest was held, when the principal witnesses, the boy Lerigo who first discovered Mar ley attacking Cope in Mr. Berry's shop, the cabman Allen who pursued and caught Marley, and the dif ferent police officers concerned in the matter, all gave evidence, at the conclusion of which the jury, after a few minutes' deliberation, returned a verdict of " Wilful murder" against Robert Marley, accom panying it with a strong expression of admiration of the conduct of Lerigo and Allen, who were solely instrumental in the prisoner's capture. The prisoner was examined at Bow-street on Thursday, and fully committed to take his trial on the charge of " Wilful murder." GAROTTING, ROBBERY, STABBING, AND MURDER continue to flourish in the metropolis. We have several interesting cases of the sort this week, and, from the sagacity and boldness the rogues display, we may expect soon to hear of a little more combi nation upon their part, and something done worthy of the reputation of the ticket of-leave brotherhood. Mr. Risley, a builder of Bermondsey, was found on Monday morning, lying in Garrett lane, Wands worth, with his throat cut. The same night the son of an Erith market gardener had been to take leave of some friends at Battersea, previous to his sailing for Australia. He was known to have a large sum of money about him. He never reached home, and the next day his body, stabbed in sixteen places, was found on the river bank. On Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday nights, extensive robberies were com mitted in Pimlico and in Tower street, while no less than four cases of attempted stabbing have this week been brought before the police magistrates ; and a respectable woman on Tuesday, about seven p. while passing near Southwark-bridge, was garotted and robbed in the open street, and a journeyman glazier on Monday morning was seized upon and robbed in the Caledonian-road, and a mechanic sitting quietly on one of the benches in St. Unseal park, an evening or two ago, was knocked senseless and robbed by a ruffian within a few hundred feet of Scotland-yard. THE BRYN MALLY MINE INQUEST has terminated in a verdict of °Accidents' death,"