The Sun. — London, England, 1824-01-14 00:00:00

CAM BRIDG E SESqONS. j3vAre the RECORDE ft i —Monday, January 12.1 CHARGE OF SWINDLING AGAINST A STUDENT OF THE UNIVERSITY. The Court House was crowded to excess at an early hour, and. 'Members of the University were to be seen in all parts of it, in consequence of a long standing and serious ac cusation against one of the Stiidebts of-Trinity College. Upon the Bench sat several of the Fellows of the University, and other rnen'of the highest respectability in 'the county. The case ex cited the deepest interest, On account of its novelty, as connected with a Stiide:it of Cambridge, and the respectability of the family of the. accused. . James 'Gel was indicted, for that he, not minding to get his living by truth, but being evil disposed , and devising how he might obtain possession of the goods of others, for his unthrifty living, did send a letter, or cause a letter to be sent, in the name of William Henry Ord, which letter was false and fabricated, to\William Newby, of Cambridge, for Four Volumes of Heine's Virgil • To this indictment the defendant pleaded Not Guilty. There was another indictment, charging the prisoner, in the same form, with having sent a false and fabricated letter, in the natne of Thomas, Lord Haigh, to William Warreker, of Cam bridge, for a dozen pair of black silk stockings, a quantity of shirts, silk gloves, &c.—To this indictment, he also pleaded Not Guilty.—The defendant was permitted toadt at the table, next to hiS Counsel and Solicitor. - Mr. PRINCE conducted the prosecution. The defendant, he said, wee a student of the Inner Temple, and was lately a Mem. leer of Trinity College. The Jury must, doubtless, hear with astonishment that a young man in such a station of life, and so respectably connected, was indicted for the offence which had - been just particularized. This circumstance would probably be alluded to in the defence, and used as an argument against the probability of guilt ; but it should be considered that men were only rich in proportion to their power of making their ex pences subservient to their ability, and that was a good defi nition of affluence which stated that he was a rich man who Laid by more than he expended. It would be proved that the defendant had availed himself of the knowledge which his ace elernical intercourse with soma Gentlemen of the University gave him, and that he adopted a course which disgraced him self, and reflected discredit upon the University. The indict ment was founded upon two Acts of Parliament, the 33d of Henry VIII., which enacted, that if any one obtained goods by colour of false pretence, or counterfeit letter. he should be int aiehed by fine or imprisonment ; and the.3oth of George IL, which extended the offence to any false representation what ever. There Were several counts which the Learned Counsel enumerated, but which it is wholly unnecessary to notice here. Mr. Newby, the prosecutor on the first indictment, was, he -mid, a bookseller, and had had some dealings with the defend at!. On the 3lst of. July lie received a letter to the following erect r.-- " Isle of Wight. " Mr. Newby; Sir—Be so good as to send me immediately a copy of Heine 's Virgil, four volumes large paper, if you have it; also an edition of-Horace. I am in the Isle of Wight with my tutor, and shall be moving about constantly_ I have a parcel coming from the Bull Inn, Aldgate, on Friday, and will tbe.nk you to send the books directed there in the Safety-coach, till called for, so as to reach the Inn in time to be forwarded to tne.—l am your obedient servant, W. H. ORD. " Trinity College." • Now Mr. Ord should be produced, to prove that he neither . had written the letter nor sanctioned the writing of it. Upon receiving it, Mr. Newby made no scruple to prepare the books —but not being supplied with some of them, he WAS induced to apply to another bookseller for an accommodation, usual MlOngst the trade; and he then ascertained that this letter was not a solitary instance of the liberty taken with a name ; for another letter had arrived from the Isle of Wight, giving an order in a different name for books and there is strong reason to suspect that the subscribed names of the gentlemen had been forged, and by the same person. Here Mr. linen'', Counsel for the prisoner,. objected to the statement of Mn Prince, observing, that he was speaking j tively of what he could not prove in evidence. The RECORDER said,. he was bound to give Counsel credit fcr what they said. They knew the rules of evidence, and he trusted that the latitude would be exercised as discreetly as possible. AT:. PRINCE continued. Mr. Newby, notwithstanding the doubt existing in his mind, executed the order. He, however, sent a person to watch his supposed 'enerespondent, and detere mined, if any fraud was meditated, that proper steps should be taken to detect the offender. An officer was forthwith dis patched to London, with directions to apprehend any person or Persons who should call for the parcel directed to Mr. Ord, and the parcel was sent off to the Bull at Aldgate. -As was expected, person called for the parcel in due time, received it, paid the carriag e upon ic, and in walking away was apprehended. by the Cambridge constable,, under such circumstances as proved 'his guilt, fur he betrayed symptoms of confusien, and had upon b im a slip of paper which contained memoranda, forming a l Cambridge shop— keepers.leneesy,p was no other than the prisoner. The Learned Counsel regret ted that two letters to other shop-keepers had unfbrtunately been burnt, and so much evidence of course put out of the wad , but the evidence upon the case he had just submitted would, he thought, be considered. quite conclusive. It would, how. give hint satisfaction if the defendant should succeed in convincing the Jury of his innocence, and fixing the offence upon another person—a course which it was said Mr. Such in -tended to adopt, by arguing that he had applied for the parcel . at, the request of-e_ pretended friend, an d th us b eca me an into_ *cent and unsuspecting object of suspicion. After having de tailed the evidence, that follows, Mr. Prince called witnesses. Richard Newby examined by Mr. Pnexca.--I am a book seller in Trinity-street, in this town ; I know Mr. Such, for merly a member of Trinity College; I have had transactions - with him ; I know Mr. Ord, of Trinity College ; I received on the 31st of July this letter.—[Here the witness produced the :atter, which was read by Mr. Prince in the course of his ad dress, and signed " William Henry Ord."j—l suspected the letter was not written by Mr. Ord. I packed up the books ; went to Mr. Carter, the grocer, and to Mr. Baxter, and after wards I sent the hooks to the Safety Coach-office to go by the next morning's coach. I had a suspicion when first I received the letter. The books were a copy of Heiners Virgil, four _volumes, small paper ; I directed it to William Henry Ord, &e ~ to be left at the Bull Inri, Aldgate, till called for. I in structed Barrage, the officer, to go to London, and desired him to apprehend any person who might apply for -the parcel of books. The parcel was packed up by myself, anti I sent a servant with it to the office. The value of the Virgil is four guineas in,bottrds. I should net hive sent the goods if I had not received that letter. Mr. HUNT ; Recollect •hat you say that upon your oath.— Witness : I repeat it. Cross-examined by Mr. HUNT : I believe at the time I parted with the books Mr. Such was a member of Trinity Col lege. I cannot swear that he is now a member of Trinity College. _ . . Mr. If uNT asked why the witness had said - Mr. Such was formerly a member ?—The witness made no reply. Mr. HUNT said the word had been used to serve a particular purpose. Mr. PR/NCE begged leave distinctly to deny that. The ob ject of the prosecutor was merely justice, and it was a matter of no importance \Vl:ether or not the defendant was now a mem- Lee of the University. Witness proceeded : All my bills to the defendant had been regularly paid. I sent my own boy to the post-office, on the 31st July, end received the letter froth him on his return. Mr. I-1 uNT : Will you swear that that letter which was given .to iou by your boy was sent by the post-office ? eVitness : I cannot swear to any more than I have said. I received it from my boy. Witness continued: I was more convinced afterwards that the letter was not,Mr..Ord's writing. The letter requested me to pack up four ioluines of Virgil, large letter ; but not having large letter I sent small letter. Mr. HUNT observed that the order required the large letter Virgil, and no other. The RECORDER decided . that Mr. Hunt's assumption was erroneous. The order required, that if large letter was in Mr. Newby's possession, he was to send it. Witness: I sent the books in boards, because I had not them bound ; if they h a d h ee n b oun d, th e price would have been 12s. more. I sent them in pursuance of the letter, notwith standing my suspicion. I don't know whether Mr. Such had a large library or not; and would have hail no objection to give credit to him. I desired Burridge tp apprehend the person who might apply fbr the parcel, but do not know whether he saw the parcel of whit I ;are him the direction. It' M r . Ord had come for the parcel,' he must have been taken up certainly. I was so satisfied that it was not the hand-writing of Mr. Ord. that I gave those directions. . Re-examined :—I don't recollect ever having seen Mr. Ord write ; nothing occurred that day to make ine think it was Mr. Such who wrote the letter.--Cross-examined : I will not swear to Mr. Otd's hand-writing, or to vitiates not his hand writing, yet I was perfectly convinced that Mr. Ord Was not the writer of the letter. George Pleasant examined by Mr. Prince live with Mie Newby'% father; was employed by Mr. Newby to take a par cel on the... 31st July to the Safety coacheoffice ; it was directed to William Henry Ord, Esq.; the parcel was. signed by Mrs. Salton, who keeps the office. Here the entry was read, as fol lows :—" W. Henry Ord, Esq., Safety Coach, Ist of August, Bur, Alrigate."—Cross-exanained: I did not see the parcel packed up ; did not see what it contained, but I. receiv•: , d it from Mr. Newby. W. Burridge examined.—Was sent by Mr, Newby to Lon don on the last day of luly, to go to the Bull, Altlgate; to wait for a parcel directed for 'William henry: Ord, Esq.,,and to apprehend any person or persons who 'might come for' that parcel. I went there ; I had seen this direction, and, I believe, the parcel, at Mr. Newby's ; I believe this to be the parcel (poining to the books) ; I went to the Bull, and a Gentleman_ came up and asked whether there was a parcel for Mr. Ord. — Mr. Such is the Gentleman; he paid something; lie was dressed like a gentleman ; the parcel was put down close to him ; I saw a slip of paper in his hand at that time ; he asked for a parcel in the name of Henwitch, and was told there was not one. The word Bull was upon the paper, which he put into his right-hand waistcoat pocket; it was the only word I saw ; Gregory, a city officer, was with me at the time. Mr. Such then went down the steps with the parcel, and I said to him, " that parcel is not directed to you ;" he murmured, but I could not understand him; I did not know who he was ; I took hold of his arm and told him lie was my prisoner ; he was very much confused, and asked me whether he could not go to his friends ? I said no, that he must go with me; he did not say any thing about the parcel there; he was taken to the Compter in Giltapur-street, and a paper was taken from his right-hand waistcoat pocket; it was the same which I had seen at the Bull in his hand. Next morning he was taken' before the - Lord Mayor, and from him brought to Cambridge.--L Witness here opened the parcel, and exhibited the volumes.] Cross-exatnined by Mr. Huwr.—l went to the Inn, to take up any person who came for the parcel; I should have taken up Mr. Ord, had he came for the parcel, but I was given to understand that he was not the person. and would not come. — When the parcel was taken up by him, I was in the coach office, behind Mr. Such, inquiring about another place in a coacli; at that time it was my duty to look over a gentleman, then reading a note, under such circumstances. swear that the paper, taken by my brother officer, out of tha waistcoat pocket of:Lilr. Such, is the paper I saw Mr. Such reading at the Inn. Mr. HUNT : And yet you only saw the ward " Bull" upon the paper ?—Witness : I swear it to be the same paper. I b.g lieve it to be the same paper. I can't be mistaken. Mr. Newly told me there were books in the parcel, hut of what description he did not, I think, mention. I said nothing to Mr. Such until he had taken his parcel. Re-examined : The paper was of the same appearance and size of that which I saw in his hand. By the RECORDER : I saw the right-hand pocket of Mr. Such searched, liut I do not know Whether there were other papers there. I saw that paper there. Mr. Newby proi , ed that the volumes of Virgil were his. He had marked them beforelie sent them off. Joseph Gregory, a Police Officer, of London, examined :—I went with Burridge to the Bull at Aldgate, on the Ist of Au gust, having received instructions from him that I should ap. prebend a person or persons who should call for a parcel. After two hours delay there, Burridge beckoned to me, and 1 heard Berridge say to Mr. Such, " Doe s that parcel belong to you ?" Mr. Such spoke something in a low voice, and appeared flur ried. Mr. B. said, he was his prisoner, and Mr. Such said, " Lord ! it will be the ruin of my family." We walked a few paces, and called a coach, in which we drove to Giltspur-street Compter. I then searched him; I found this paper in his right-hand waistcoat pocket, and Burridge desired me to take care of ii.—Th4; paper was read, and is as follows : " Mail-Office, Friday Morning. " Wanker, L. T. H. Henwich, Mrs. Nelson.—Safety.— Bull, Newby. " W. H. ORD. " Tally 0, Two Neeks.:•LWagstafr, Bull Inn. " W. H. Fetter Ord. " Telegraph, Four Afternoon.—Nicholson, Ord.—Fly, G. wad B. Boar.” Cross-examined—Th e n I searched Mr. Such; Burridge was with me, and did not part.from me any part of the time ; it was quite light at the time. The yard of the inn is public, and I could see into it from the street. I did not know Mr. Such at the ; I knew where Mr. Such lived in town, because he told me where. I hea r d h e h a d two se t s of lodgings, and I mentioned it before the M ag i strate . I h a ve been informed that he.had lodgings in Bedford-square ; my, object in telling the Magistrate was to gratify him ; I had kissed the book at th e time, but I stated about the lodgings without considering it was upon oath. I heard others say so, and I said I h ear d so . When Mr. Such said, " Lord, it wjll be the ruin of my family," Burridge was near me, and I rather think he heard him say that. By the Itt-conns7.ll: I asserted that I was told that Mr. Such had two sets of lodgings. Peter•Cempion examined ,by Mr. PRINCE :-1 was in the habit of fetching lir. Newby's letters from the post; on the 31st .July, I had got two' letters from the p ost . o ffi ce' and I gave them to 111 r. Newby. Those (the let ters pro d uce d ) were they. The date was different from that of other letters which Mr. Newby received, and I know one Iron's the Other by the blue cast of the paper.—[Here there w as a burst of laughter in the Court, caused by the very c ' r curstantial manner in which the boy answered every question, and the REcoanEst declared; that if upon any future occ a si on h e ' should h ear any thing so diSgraceful upon so serious an oce as h„ , so offending should be committed to prison. ksThe witness then pointed out the blue cast of the paper, a t sfferenCe pa lpable to the Jury. Witness : I paid the postag e on th ose le tter s, f or one of them tpaid 8 postage, d. the- ptrson but I do not know what I paid for the other. The day the.letter arrived was the 31st of July. William Henry Ord, Esq. examined by Panics : I am a Fellow Comthoner of Trinity Colleg e; I was in North umberland at the latter end of July last Mr. Husur objected- to Mr. Ord's evidence, on the ground that such evidence was calculated to release him from A debt. In Dr. Dodd's case,.'and in Abialarn Newland's case, the evi dence .by interested - parties was,rejecte.d. ltilr. Ord dently an interested party.here, and therefore could not legally be heard. It was not because the Learned Counsel thought his client in danger that he Made this Objection. The RECORDER instantly over-ruled the objection, and ob served that in a case of civil action the objection might have weight ; the . cases of forgery did not apply to the present case, they were an anomaly in law.—Witness : I was never in the Isle of Wight (looking at the letter signed with his name). This is not my hand-writing. I never authorized any one to write that letter, or any such letter; I authorized no person to get a Heine's Virgil from Mr. Newby, not even verbally.— Cross-examined : I don't remember having dealt with Mr. Newby ; I may have bought a book occasionally from him. Wm. Warreirer.—l am. a hosier and glover in this town ; I know Mr. Such.; I have supplied him with goods, and have had letters and correspondence with him ' • I have not sen t hi m any goods in 'his own name • I have sold him good's when he was in the University ; the fetters I bad from him Were in his own name; I made up some shirts for him, in consequence of a letter sent from him ; I had a conversation with bins on the subject, and he said he had ordered the goods ; h received two letters from' him ; the one was to know whether I made up goods, and the other was an order for the goods ; the letters were not denied by Mr. Such in the conversation with mi. Cross-examined.—Mr. Such had since sent a letter to me, desiring me to send the goods down, and he would pay me for them; I had received a former letter in the name of Lord Thomas Haigh.—By the RECORDER-1 14 made up a set of shirts for Mr. Such, in consequence of the second letter, but I did not send them.—The RECORDER asked whether the ob ject of the production of this evidence was to prove that the witness could identify the writing of Mr. Such. • Mr. RAINE answered in the affirmative: The witness :-1 directed my letter to Mr. Such, at No. 6, Adam -street, Adelphi.—Cross.exatnined : I think I have seen Mt. Such write ; but I can't swear that I have seen him write. _ _ Witness: I think this Wiitin!4 (the letter produces: in dence) is the writing of*Alr. Such. Cross-examined.—To the-best of my belief it his writing.' By the Co un.T : I should have answered a letter so receiv ed as coming from Mr. Such, if no suspicious; circumstances took place.—Re.examined: Witness—lupposed I received letter from Lord Thomas Haigh. Mr. HUNT objected, that the statement just made by the witness referred merely to a new offence, and could not be taken as evidence upon the case under consideration. Mr. PRINCE contended, that other libels might be proved, to chew the quo unimo with which that under trial had been written. The RECORDER was of opinion that a paper containing a memorandum in which Lord Haigh's name was mentioned, was admissible as part of the rev guts, but decided against the examination of evidence upon it. George Henry French, Esq., of Trinity College, was called upon his subpoena, but did not answer. Mr. PRINCE here closed the case for the prosecution. Mr. HtrxT rose for the defendant. Ile said that his object in addressing the Court was to point out the legal grounds up_on which the prosecutor was put completely out of C our t. His client intended, if there existed any necessity for a defence, to enter at length upon the vindication of his character, hut the legal objections which presented themselves to the further en tertainment of the charge, were so great, that as a lawyer, and of course bound to tak advantage of every defect, he must, notwithstanding the reluctance of Mr. Such, claim an acquittal for him on the mere strength of those objections. In the first place, this case did not come within the statute ; in the next, the prosecutor had put himself out of Court by proving that lie was not deceived by the pretence; and lastly, the fraud attri buted to the defendant was not within the jurisdiction of the Court, the possession having be ,obtained in the City of Lon don. It were to be wished that *e. ; subtlety which had so com prehensively drawn up the indictlent,fm: great judgment had been exercised on the occasion, hail confined itself to civil cases, and not born down against one in - tlie situation of the defendant, whom he believed to be a most nthiahle and innocent young man. Now, as to Mr. Newby'e being deceived, how did that appear? When that gentleman received the letter, he sus pected that it was not from Mr. Ord. He received confirmation upon consulting with his neighbours, and still he sent the ?, books. Here was - a palpable variance between the indictment and the evidence ; for the one said that. Mr. Newby was de : ceived, and the other said that he was not, but on the contrary that he was quite convinced of the deception. The Act of Per : liament was made the the protection of simple unsuspecting men ; not for men who, like Mr. Newby, were protected ,by their own caution, and who, like him.; would be disposed to con vert a letter which was not calculated to deceive him into a ma.n-trap. The goods were all the while in his possession, or under his controul, and Mr. Ord, of whose respectability there Could not be the slightest question, 'was liable to be appre hended as well as any body else, according to the very broad and comprehensive directions of a person who had taken such good care of himself as to be indifferent to the feeling of those around him. He had the means of detecting, and he did detect, and knowing that there was an intention to defraud, he sent the goods. He was therefore out of the meaning of the Statute, for he was a person not deceived. The Learned Coun sel here argued upon the words of the letter, which he said or dered a large letter Virgil or none. A small letter Virgil had been sent. The order was therefore not complied with. Was it possible that if a man asked for a horse, and was sent a cow, it could be argued that his order had been complied with (loud own accord, and the person who-received either was not charge laughter) ? The small letter or the cow was sent of th e owner ' s able with the crime of a false pretence, for lie sent for neither. Why, Mr. Newby might send a hundred volumes upon an order for one, if such a doctrine were to be admitted, and charge the person to whom he should send, either with . the debt or the offence. Then as to the venue, the . goods were certainly obtained in Aldgate, in the city of Lon , don. Here, then, it was palpable that the receiving, which was the, carpus delicti, took place out of the jurisdiction of the Court. The Learned Counsel then cited authorities to prove the claim ; of his client to acquittal. The prosecutor's possession of the goods had, he said, never been given up. The parcel was con structively in hit possession, for he had sent an officer with L directions to take up any one who should apply for it. To . deal other Wise with the Statute' than as he (Mr. Hunt) had just laid down, would be to turn it into cunning, and he therefore called upon the Court to declare . that his client was now, as he had been along, corarn non Judice. Mr. PRINCE commenced a reply to those arguments by some observations upon the appeal made to the passions of the Jury ; but Mr. HUNT requested that he would touch the law of the case, and stick to that. Mr. PRINCE.—Why, Mr. Hunt, I do as you do. Mr. HUNT : Copy my virtues, not my defects, my friend.— , Touch the law. Mr. PRINCE submitted to the Court, that the guilty inten.. : tion was the only thing necessasy to be established, in order to . shew the propriety of prosecuting under the Statute on which . this indictment was founded. So much for the first objection. With respect to the second—lf a man were to send in the name of another fhr a coat made of Saxon wool, and that the ' tailor, not having wool of that kind, sent a coat made of an . other sort, would the crime of the cheat be less amenable to the , law ? The third objection was answered as easily as the two . first. The possession of the books was obtained the moment they were sent to the Booking-office, and of course the venue was correctly laid. : The RECORDER concurred in Mr. Prince's view of the objec tion, and accordingly over-ruled-them. Mr. HUNT then said he should leave the case in the hands of . the defendant, who was preparing for the profession of which he would one day be an ornament. The defendant, who sat at the table, next to his Counsel, then rose.—The time of trial, to which he bad looked for the last six ninths with so much anxiety, had at length arrived, and deeply painful as his anticipations had been, they fell far short of the present. overwhelming feelings of his heart. He stood there charged' ith an Offence against society which h e , revered, against a God at whose name he trembled, and whose worship he adored—he stood charged as a common robber. A member of a family whose respectability was acknowledged by all, whOse good name had never been tainted—a member of an University, u pon the good opinion and support of which all his hopes in life depended—he could not but feel in his present con dition an agony beyond despair if he had not within his breast I a conscience free from offence, and a dependence upon the wisdom of those who were to decide between him and his ene mies. But the Jury, even the Jury, came into Court loaded with prejudices against him. That it could be otherwise was impos s ible ; innumerabl e were the insinuations made through the town in which he was to be tried against his character, and every new edition was more aggravated and inflamed ; but he knew that those prejudices and those suspicions would all fly off before the great tribunal at which he 'stood for the vindication of his fame; and that the reports - which he was ,obliged to notice, although no attempt had been made to establish their truth, would not be suffered to interfere with the judgment of thee twelve men who - were to decide upon his fate. AU that the tonge "f malice could utter or invent against him, had been spoken, and how feeble had the venom proved itself to be, wnen the specific which greiv up in a British Court of Justice was a p p li e d ! Look at the support w delar a ti o n, hich the so publicly b e ll owe d through the streets of Cambrid ge , t h at he was the occup i er o f two l o d g i ngs in ILondon, received! The clamour was adopted because there was something suspicious in the itlea of keeping two lodgings e ; 1 and yet there wa s no ground for the rumour, except, indeed , I the sus pi c ion of a police - officer, who heard it said by some other person, and - therefore thou g h t there could be no doubt ofethe fact. It h a d been denied too that . h e was a studen t of the Inner Temple, and he was charged . with presumption` in asserting that he was. But thi s like all the other in dignant attacks, was false ; ated he bad it in his powe r to shew it by the production of his certificate, which he fortu nately, had not been deprived of, Those and a hundred other false re p orts h a d b een long floati ng through the atmosphere o f Cambridge, and must have drifted into the ears of the jury, and he should make no other excuse for alluding to circumstances which lie was aware could have no effect upon their minds in their calculations upon his guilt or innocence. Credulity, and prejudic e , th e c hild o f credulity, were the nat i ve i nhabitants of the mind. To guard against their influence was a task of no ordinary difficulty ; and what individual was fortified against the constant, the incessant reiteration of charges which went to gratify the mischievous propensity of mankind ? It - was a saying of Edmund Burke's, that the same thing repeated daily for tw e l ve months, would at th e en d o f that period b e believed b y the inventor.. Six months had all those stories, to his (the defendant's) injury, been in daily circulation, and arguing from the data of the philosophical politician, a cor responding degree of credit might have been given to the accu station • . so that the minds of his opponents must naturally be expected to have acquired a sharper tone of animosity by the pernicious habit to which he had found it necessary to al lude. It was true he had the books in his possession—it was true he had the slip of paper in his possession ; so far the ap pearances militated against him, but this possession had no thing to do with a false pretence. Not one word of evidence had been adduced - in proof of- that most indispensable material, in a charge of fraud. A link was wanting in the chain, and the accusation ipso facto fell to the ground. The intention of the accused was as free from evil as were the thoughts of those whom he now addressed, and happy would he have been had his Counsel listened to his suggestions, and scorned to press any legal point, content to let him stand or fall by the unvar nished representation of the real facts.. It was indeed a source of great satisfaction to him that the Learned Recorder had over-ruled the objections which had been advanced for such a subterfuge, as ari application to errors in legal writings or state ments, as a ground of acquittal, was only fit for the guilty. There was a.hernic. innocence as well as a heroic courage; he felt the latter in all itei vigour, arid to the trial by jury, which must be called the palladium of British liberty, so long as it remained incoruptible either by passion or avarice, he would rather submit his case than appear to be under an obligation to mistake or inaccuracy for the result of the trial. He dis dained all attempts to wind round the feelings of those who were engaged in the solemn and important investigation of the truth. He disdained to retake an effort to harrow up their feel ings by showing to them how inseparably interwoven his des tinies were with the fate of others who were much dearer to him than life: but he would emphatically importune the great searcher of hearts to enable them to see their way with a pure vision. ,There were no windows in the breast of man. Would to God that they could behold the leeneiratia of his bosom. They would acknowledge that the taint of this mean and des picable vice was not to be found there. That the books were ' meant to be obtained fraudulently he had no hesitation in be lieving, but that he became possessed of them in a just and honourable manner he would convince the Jury, that there was as little doubt ; and he hoped they would demand the most unde niable proof that he was the writer of the letter, before they con sidered him guilty. He then said, that observing the impatience of the Jury to hear his defence, he should proceed without more delay to give them a detail, to the truth of every word of which he pledged himself before the face of Almighty God. During his residence in Cambridge, he was in the habit of riding to Newmarket, where he occasionally laid wagers with persons of whom he had no previous knowledge, and he be lieved he was not singular in that respect. Upon one occa sion he laid a wager of 101. with a Mr. Hales, upon a race. horse, and won, and Mr. Hales gave him his card ; called upon him at Mrs. Perry's house, where he lodged, and paid him ; here commenced an acquaintance, which the defendant should never cease to deplore. Ile thought that Mr. Hales, whose appearance and address, and ac complishments were all corresponding, and of the very first order, was a Member of the University, for he spok e o f several Noblemen and Gentlemen with an air of perfect fami liarity. Another bet was made between them ; Mr. Hales wa gered 4 to 6 against Emilius at Epsom races. He (defendant) was to have met Mr. Hales at Epsom Downs, but the Univer sity duties interfered, and he was obliged to absent himself; he lost the wager, and soon after saw 111, r . H a l es at Vauxhall Gardens ; th e r e he apologised for not paying the debt of ho nour, requested that his creditor would say nothing about it, and invited him to chambers • the acquaintance was thus gra dually sipening, and Mr. ffales's elegance of manners and accomplishments appeared to greater advantage upon closer acquaintance. Such, in fact, was the power of this very elegant person, the defendant declared, that he should have placed, and actually had placed the most unbounded confidence in him. During the subsequent interviews, Mr. Hales shewed the same fascinating deportment. "At last," said the defendant, ' he was obliged to go to Brighton ;" lie came to me and told me so, and wished me to accom pany him. I was obliged to remain in town to attend terms, and consequently refused, but I offered to render, him any service in my power during my s t a y. I n d ee d, said- he, lain very thankful to you, and you can do a little commission for me. I have, added he, been commissioned by Mr. Ord,-11r. Hennitch, and Lord Hay, to have some parcels which they ex pect in London from Cambridge, transmitted to them. I said, at once, to accommodate him, that I would attend to the busi ness ; he thanked me, and said that the gentlemen to whom he was to send the parcels, were in the Isle of Wight; but, said he, I dont't know any thing about the Isle of Wight, I am quite a stranger to it ; however, I shall, on my return a ' do all that is necessary if you will be so obliging as to get the parcels, which are to be directed to the Bull Inn, into your possession, and keep them in a corner of your bed-room ; I consented to do so, and to pay whatever charge might be made, and, Gentlemen of the Jury, " The very head and front of my offence hath this ex tent no more." I did not think it necessary to send a porter for the parcels, for I calculated that he must be paid half-a-crown for the errand from the Bull Inn to Adam-street in the Adelphi, and a coach would not cost me more ; I therefore, having no thing to do, walked to the Bull, applied for the parcel with out fear ov hesitation, obtained it, and was walking down the steps to call a coach, when the officer laid hold of me. That officer and his companion have said just as much as would serve the prosecution, and no more. They have forgotten what I said, and, to' answer their own purposes, they falsely stated that I had murmured. 'What I said, I said distinctly and firmly. 1 said I know my name is not Ord; and that I would take care of the parcel. It is false to say 1 was flurried. The officer told me it was necessary I should go to Cambridge. What was my conduct on the whole occasion ? I defy any hu man being, except those who look to future advantage to them selves, to say that it was not the conduct of an innocent man. But in a special peader's office, the first and Olden rule is, never to put a question to a witness which will not answer the purposes of the prosecution ; and this rule has heen adhered to by the Counsel for the prosecution. I repeat, before the face of Almighty God, that my conduct was that of an innocent man; that my conduct is that of an innocent man, who has been imposed upon by a villain. This is the plain " unvar nished tale" of the whole scene of misfortune. The same ac count I have always given, and the same I shall g ive at the judgment-seat of Christ." The defendant said he should now proceed to the second part of his defence; and he addressed himself in the most solemn manner to the reason and judgment of the Jury, as well as to theirintegrity in following him through all the parts of the great topic of his vindication. He suppli cated that he might not be hurried to a prejudged execution, and that they would cast the eye of philosophy upon what he had to deliver. It had been agreed to by all writers, that rea son alone made man accountable for his actions. If that was the case, would not a verdict of lunacy be brought in against him, before a verdict of fraud, if he had acted as was described? What could be the motive for the commission of profit from th e sa l e o f t h em. He would first the crime ? He must have had some end in view—either the pleasure of reading the books lie was accused o f h av i ng obtain ed motive was not th e pl easure o f reading Vir gil; fraudulently, e that would in eviden ce t h a t h e h a d an extensive library ; that he had five editions of the very book a ll u d e d to ; that member of the B r iti s h M useum, where there werespew lild the o p r a of editions, and th a t h e h a d other means of gratifying a propensityto re a d Vi rg il , w i thout endanger ing e i u n war A tenon ; The oth er mot i ve was one of a more serioushis P nature.reu Ihe fraud for the sake of . profit clearly pre supposed povertY: This was the presumption which was so p hil os ophical a place knew that 'every effect must have a general in Cambridge. The Magistrates who lived and acted set him was by attributing it to indigence, and they accordingly c in au s s n e. The most charitable way they had to account for the down as robbing for bread. He did not consider po offence verty a disgrace, except when it was the known consequence of was praiseworthy or ignominious, he had never had an a bad course of life. It was a state, however, of which, whe. of estimating the merits. Mr. French, if he was i nt n hPeP Co r°ri i ttu rt n , i,t eo Y uld prove that he not only had enough for himself, but 50/. or 601. to lend to a friend, and that he had taken up bills lately to the amount of between 801. and 901. It would be proved that his father always paid the University and other bills on the days they became (hie ; that he had himself been always studious, sober, and economical; that he was seldom o u t a fter five o'clock in the eve ni ng, and never after nine; that he had ,a cellar full of the best wines, and an excellent library ; and that he was in a state' of affluence, and was a man of most punctilious honour. It had been said that hundreds of pounds would not have satisfied his desire of expence. To a man so insatiable, of what service could forty shillings worth of books be-a-how could he t urn a paltry robbery to thefgratification of his passion ? He would prove that his credit at Cambridge was good—that, upon application to any shop-keeper there, he would- not have been refused, and that even Mr. Warreker, one of the witnesses for the prosecution, allowed that he was to be depended upon ; for after the charge had been made, that gen tleman begged to be allowed to send him twenty pounds' ,worth ofgoods. Mr. Warreker was here, and he had it in his power to deriy it if he could—.... • Mr. WARREICER.—It is not true. The defendant proceeded without the least hesitation.' He' had, he said, plenty of witnesses to prove that Mr. Warreker had made the request. The case was wholly without support, and persons in the courts above knew it, for it had not only been submitted to gentlemen of eminence at the bar, but to a Judge, and they expressed their surprise at charging a man who could command 401. at any time, with a robbery of 40s. The RECORDER -4 cannot, defendant, permit that to be said of a Judge, when it is impossible the case could have come before him. The defendant - asked, whether it was not reasonable to sup pose, that, if he wanted money, he would part with his Chro nometer,. for which he could have got eighty-five guineas in an instant, rather than have to send to Cambridge for 40 shillings' worth of books to supply his necessities ? Books might not be a very marketable commodity, but the prosecutor had said, that he would have given books upon his (defendant's) credit. This must be allowed to be a solecism ; that a person who had the opportunities of obtaining 'considerable credit without hazard, should risk his character, nay his life (for this case might have been pros ecu t e d ca pi t ally), by making a base ex periment Upon the name of another. Let the Jury look at the case as they would, they would see no more than this_ that lie formed acquaintances with greater speed than dis cretion, and the only point in dubio was, whether he was not the dupe of a villain. He was a very young man, but little versed in any arts but those of schools and colleges, and was it miraculous that he should be deceived, when those whom he addressed were constantly the victims of imposition ? He de clared, that as lie hoped for salvation he was cruelly and un justly punished ; that he complained not of prosecutors or Magistrates, who were carried away by the to rrent o f suspi cion, and that whatever might be his fate, even though the ver dict should hurry his dying mother to the grave, he should offer to God the effusions of a soul as resigned as it was hano cent. If the Jut.) , believed him to be guilty, after such positive assurances of innocence, they must believe him also to be the most perjured and iniquitous of God's creatures, who would be content to destroy his soul through all eternity, upon con dition of escaping from a trivial punishment. He begged the Jury to reflect upon the consequences of an unfavourable ver dict to him and his family, and to prove by their decision that he would not be induced to ruin the hopes of his brothers, who were all younger than himself, and to become the digito mon strari of every passer by : that he would not by an act of base ness subject himself to banishment from his friends, a homeless living monument of blighted ambition and detected villany. lie wanted not such an acquittal as would be calculated to throw the least shadow upon his innocence, sooner would he rush into the presence of his God. The acquittal he wanted was that which would restore him to confidence and felicity, the reward of his innocence and the test of his truth. [At the conclusion of this speech there were some expressions of admiration, but they checked by the Recorder.] The defendant's Counsel then called the following witnesses. Mr. John Spicer, of Bedfordshire : I knew..3lr. Such since he was a child; 'he has spent several weeks at my house at a time. He has visited me within 12 months. I am very intimate with his father. In my opinion he was a most upright young man ; 1 would not have believed it when I heard he was indicted ; I supplied him with money frequently ; his father desired that I should supply him, and never withdrew the order. _ _ _ Cross-examined': 1 have seen him two days within the last 12 months ; he has not applied to me for several years, but I was always open to him. Mr. Randall : 1 keep a boarding-house ; Mr. Such lived in my house for some months; his deportment was that of a Gen tleman ; 1 do not think him capable of a swindling transaction : when he was taken up he was lodgini , with me. 11r. Thomas Spicer, draper, of . Sheffield : I knew Mr. Such 12 or 14- yearn I have visited him and he has visited me; he has been at my house three weeks together; I s h ou ld n ot believe him capable of a swindling transaction, and will not b elieve it; he could not have been in poverty, and I should have given him credit or money if he wished ; I have seen * number of hooks of -his at his father's house; 100 or more. Mr. Smith —Mr.Such lod ge d at my aunt ' s, and had some things fro m the shop ; I gave him credit ; I should not have suspected his character; I saw nothing particularly wrong in him as a lodger. Mrs. Perry-31r. Such lodged with me two Terms ;he always behaved well at my house ; I thought him a little gay, hut I did not think him capable of any thing dishonest; I would have trusted him any thing. Mr. James Phillips, boot and shoemaker : I have had deal ings with Mr. Such, and consider him incapable of a swindling transaction. Cross-examined : I never heard any thing disrespectful of Mr. Such, and always considered him respectable. Mr. John Carter, grocer; I know Mr. Such ; he dealt with me three terms ; we look to the tutor to pay ; I should not have imagined him capable of a swindling transaction. Mr. Lamb, a saddler : Mr. Such always behaved well to me, and I should not have thought it likely that he would act badly. A horseAealer gave evidence as to the same effect. Mr. Crisp, confectioner w dealt with by Mr. Such, and had no reason to doubt his honour. Cross -examined.—Except in one instance, I believe him never to have acted badly; and I still think him incapable of a swindling transaction.—Another witness said, that until the 31st of July, he thought Mr. Such incapable of an im proper act. Mr. Randall Jackson, of Christ's College._l am a student of Christ's Coll ege , and knew Mr. Such, but not at all intimately. I have had transactions with him in small debts, and he always behaved to me honourably. Mr. Gaywood, a horse-dealer : I have had dealings with Mr. Such. I think him incapable of swindling. John Brown, Esq., a tutor of Trinity College : Mr Such is my pupil. lie was in general at lectures, and extremely well prepared. I had often been desired by the Dean to admonish gentlemen for neglect of chapel duty, but never had occasion to do so to him. lie never while with me did any thing to in duce me to think that he would engage in a swindling transac tion. • Cross-examined : He ceased to become a Member in August. Solong as Mr. Such attended my lectures, and was under my superintendence, he did not act reprehensibly. I have my doubts whether he is or is not incapable of a swindling transac tion. I feel doubtful about his being incapable of committing a fraudulent act. Re-examined : I did not think him capable of a pecuniary fraud until this transaction. Mr. PRINCE expressed an anxiety to reply, and argued strongly for the right.. The REcounxn.—l decide, two periculo, that no reply ought to be made upon this case. • The RECORDEIt then summed up the evidence. He ob served, that the case was of vast importance to the public, who should, upon all occasions, be informed that no station, how ever high, could exempt a guilty person from the operation of the law. It was also of paramount importance to the de fendant, for the verdict must either restore him to society, or consign him to infamy and disgrace worse than death. In the appeal made by the defendant to the feelings of the Jury, they were to consider that, powerful as it was, it consisted of mere assertions, unsupported by evidence. The Jury retired, and in two hours returned a verdict of Guilty.--The defendant seemed to be o,uite overcom e at hear- • ing his doom ;h e hid hi s face between his hands, and sobbed. The RECORDER then addressed him, and said the evidence had been such as to leave no doubt of his guilt in the minds of any who heard it. The sentence of the Court was then passed upon the de fendant—IMPRISONMENT FOR TWO YEARS. The defendant does not appear to be more than 18 or 19 years of age. The trial lasted ten hours, and the Court and passages were crowded up to the moment the sentence was passed. MYSTERIOUS DISAPPEARANCE OF MR. WHITE Nearly two years ago Mr. WIITTE, of the Quadrant, by Regent-street, Smith to his Majesty, to the astonishment and consternation of all his friends and creditors, suddenly disappeared ; and all the inquiries that have since been made respecting him, in every possible direction, have been vain. His friends; creditora, and others, have never bees able to obtain the remotest.s in a x inf ormation, eeelln oertt way of business,hinthemosttrifling and lilielva well-circumstanced. Th e l ast trace or knowledge of w respectin g as Min was, that he left home for the purpose of going to the Board of Works to receive , 6oo/., and, that he did go and re ceive such 6001.; but ,what became o f hi m a f terwards, what Course he took 4 never could be' ascertained. There were some rumours that he had gone to Liverpool for the purpose of pro• ceeding to America; and his creditors got Mr. Beard (a man who had extensive dealings about bills, &c., with Probert and Mr. White's brother-in-law) to go to Liverpool in search of Mr. White. Mr. Beard immediately on his arrival announced such fact; but five days afterwards he wrote and stated that he could learn nothing about Mr. White. The creditors next sent Mr. White's foreman's son, Saunders, to Liverpool an d i t s neighbourhood on th e lik e errand ; and he issued placards, and circulated them throughout Lancashire, &c., for the discovery of his master. The day afterwards a man went to Saunders, and said that for 301. Mr. White should be produced: that he was concealed in Liverpool. The offer was accepted—but the man never more presented himself, nor could he afterwards be. discovered. It may be needless to add that nothing could be heard of Mr. White, though Saunders remained sometime longer at Liverpool, &c. To enable the creditors to get possession of the property, Mr. White was made a bankrupt, and eventally alsooutl awe d mysterious— te r c o a c s e e e t o l i f n g th s be eß h e ig similar y.c .c. toc inotlbtoonse.sthnemreecentan Magis trates (amongst others, those of Bow-street) have afforded all . possible aid to discover Mr. White, or to procure some tidings of him. Recent events have given rise to fresh and alarming surmises. Mr. Beard, whose respectability is known, ii stated to be one of the individuals who was ensnared into trans actions with Probert. Mr. 8., by his relationship to Mr. W• 9 had facilities of knowing that individual's affairs and proceed' ings ; and he niight have incautiously mentioned, in the pre sence of Probert, or of some of Probert's party, the nature d Mr. 'White's visit to the Board of Works. That might ae" count for the sudden and mysterious disappearance of Mr. White; at least such is the surmise amongst his friends and creditors, since the transactions that have come to light in con sequence dthe murder of Mr. Weare.—(Morning Paper.) DARING BURGLARY.-At au early hour oil Wednesday morning last, the house of Mr. J. Bitoonze4l jeweller, of No. 16, Bridgewater-square, Barbican l was brok en into by a mo s t d ar i ng gang o f b urglars, who had first obtained an entrance into the house adjoining, which is at present lin' occupied, and from thence made their way into Mr. Brogden's counting-house, by breaking an aperture in the brick-wall 0 0 the ground floor. A man of Mr. Brogden's slept in the back parlour, but was not at all disturbed ; so that the fellow' proceeded in their work u ntil th e y had en l arge d the breach sufficiently wide for a man's body to pass through. young' lad, apprentice to Mr. Brogden, slept in the root° above, and just as the watchman was calling the hour of two, he heard a noise in the counting-house; and having I listened attentively for a f ew m i nutes l onger, he entertained no doubt that there were robbers breaking into the house , and throwing up the window sash, he sprung a rattle usualli retained for that purpose—by the way, a very useful preeao• e tion—and a number of watchmen were quickly collected rout a 1. the door; the burglars hearing the hustle outside, judged ea.' a formidable force was being collected ; they retreated through • the empty house, and ascended to the roof, and were seen bf the persons in the street clambering at intervals over the ties , until nearly six o'clock, when they escaped ; there were five at one time seen on the roof of the house No. 15, four of whoo. l are supposed to have got along the leads, and passed throtig the corner into a yard communicating with Golden-lane; the fifth descended byea trap-door, into a' house in Brackley-street' and:presenting a pistol at the occupier, threatened to blow his • brains out if he did not accompany him down stairs, and le t him out into the street; the determined air of the robber lef t the poor terrified man no alternative but compliance, and the villian consequently •escaped. In their confusion, .thei abandoned some implements with which they had effected ell! burglary. A centre-bit (iron trace) and brass nut, a mete' trowel, a flat nine-inch file, a dark lantern, and a pair of Mra' gate slippers, were found on the premises, all of which were given up to the officer of. Guildhall poli c e-office. A reward ( f ,) M. is offered for the apprehension of the offerders, and an st l i?. ditional 50/. for prosecuting to conviction any one or more f: - them. Mr. Brogden w as no t i n town at t h e t i me : had e• fellows not been so speedily discovered, they would have se ; cured a handsom e bo o ty, as t h ere was a great d ea l of valual,l, property in the counting-house, There is no doubt that tho .. fellows form apart of that desperate frat ern ity w hi c h h ave 5 ; lolls. infested Whitechapel and the surrounding neighbourhood'' and appear to set. the Police at defiance. ATTEMPTED SUICIDE. - YestOrdsy morning Mr. WATERS, landlord of the Three Tuns public-hoO f : brook-street, Holborn, attempted to put a period to his exis t ence. by cutting his throat a cros s w i t h a razor i n b e d. H e bi l 4 retired to rest the night before in apparent good spirits, and 11 6 . yet no cause has been assi g ned f or t hi s ras h act . S oon after 0:,0 commission of the deed he was discovered by an attendant I, the house, who immediately ga - ve the alarm ; and surgical sistance being procured, the wound was sewed up, and he ll' es soon after removed to Middlesex Hospital, but very little hoP are entertained for his recovery. r