The Sun. — London, England, 1820-04-10 00:00:00

AND. MARS, FORGERY. lowly on e given. Bridgtowtl eral ris►►►g' lispersecl•'" as sig►►sb, icals,arnie d ed tbroug il order ib e ously tint pities' een on CV this morn' load wer / ar of pike !at Canal' iff. fletneu ttr' ber of Re 'ere Ittkro ale, Ore Hussoli suiprisd streets nanry ed the taken ti? ltddicalir under no Oth Hue' near Air' iy Calton r meat bY nained at the dig. allot[ ar :re armed Trades" ;Ie armed s a last' that *tic to-Inot° tle rook o'clociso ;OW sod on heie vorkille 3 Radical; carHi Jr a rniti f shot ; ran Os east and tte e killed 'ed, and !en woo Shorty is troolP le Oa )Ie with imme" latitude wessiug feeling' vat lig° p reduce be sub- In Scat• it It do' troop as milts .0 1 to ies et an or B on Ili* two Yee ed. t, David' :bed with Radicals/ advanevi aftef gin the bey were id one of risonello aken. c %Dun& tsars e ; tbrco orted to ps coos u 4; ar ry to the ontaio ring dao priutrig abitaut. c ism's& ..Provir her cot' id in Tr hanibar• ojawties do here mise ova cing and thereof , al Seen -- e Lora etectio o encory y offer si cceptero authors and be paid' ::otntags-. )f Aprils T FI AB 9. evisit £SCAPE of CAPTAIN DAVIS front PRISON. Our Readers may probably recollect, that about 51 month back a good deal was said respecting the apprehension of a young Gentleman, very highly conne Lte d, upon a c h arge o f f orger y to a very great extent, upon the respecti,We banliing-house of Messrs. Drunnuond,• of Chating-Cross. -The person thus alluded to ‘se are now tinder the painful necessity of announcing is Mr. John Henry Da‘i*, son of the late Sir John Davi , , an h i thVithlat at the highest honour and integrity. t i ho was closely connected with many families of distinction in this country. It appears that the unfortunate young man, to whose melancholy toe. we. ate about to allude, formerly held the rank of Captain in his iNlajesty's Life Guards, and subsequently, as well as at the time of his arrest, the situation of Lieutenant of th e Yeomen of the Guards. It is needless to say, /bat u:;der such circumstances he moved in the highest cir cles 'of society. He « as . Vely generally known, and partook of all those fashionable amusements 1.11 which VOllllg men of his age anti rank hot too trtm eni l y indulge. Among these,.gambling was uith him a favourite passion. He was the eon- Slat.( frequenter of all those houses at the IVest end of the town, where play may justly be said to be carried to a criminal excess. The conse- quence was such as might have been anticip a ted, a fortune of twenty thousand pounds, lent to him by his father, soon vanished, and he was reduced to comparative distress. lie proceeded to the Continent, where at Versailles and Paris he plunged again into the vortex of dissipation : be was again foremost amongst the most desperate Players. For a time fortuee•favotired Isis pursuit, and he began t o retrieve the losses which be had sustained at home ; unhappily, however ; he' bad 1101 the prudence to stop in time. Elated by suc cess, he dashed forwent, and was &sally ruined.— lie lost all he had gained, and returned to Eng land almost penny less. We now come to t!iat aCt of his life which reflects indetible ,itsgrace On himseif aed his connexioes : having exhausted the meens of renewing his visits to the gambling table, he had recourse to the dread:ill expedient of forg ing the acceptance of Mr. Henry Drumm: old to a bill drawn by himself on the titan of Drummond and Co. for 60001. It is more than probable that his intehtion„ at the titne of committing this act, was to have prevented the presentaiion of this bill, by himself paying the amount betore it becarnd tine ; hut, cidcMisstances led to the detection of the forgery before even the fi : nita of the scheme reached his bands. it appears that a few weeks back he went to Mr. Newbold, Ilia attorney, and told him that be was about to get a bill upon Messrs. Drummond for 60001. dis enamel!, and that he was to pay, by way of die rtaint, the sum of 4001. The hill having been drawn at 12 months ,Mr. New land ithfue 4 iattlY ob served that it was quite au unnecessary sacrifice, for that if the bill had been'accepted by Messrs. Drill - 11.- 41.nd, he bad no doubt he could get it discount ed at the ordinary rate of five per. cent. In consegnence of this representation, Mr. Davis procured the bill from the hands of the person with whom it bad s been placed. To this bill, in conse quence of its having been dated upon an erasure, mere was sonic objection, but this was obviated by Mr. Davis procuring another bill for the stone *Mount and of the S:sme date, to which no such objection existed, and this was accepted for the firm in the name of Henry Drummond; and Mr. Newland lost no time in carrying the bill to a bill broker of the name of Smith, in the city, who said there could be no ,difficulty in procuring the cash. The bill was then left with him, when some sus- Picions arose in his mind as to whether it really Was the acceptance of Mr. Drummond or not.— Not from any doubt which he had of the hand- Writing, but from his belief that Messrs. Drum blond would not accept a bill at so long a date, He knew the respectability of their firm, and was %Ware, that it was seldom or never their practice to. accept any bills drawn in town. With feelings thus excited, be went to the house of Smith, Payne, and Smith, and sheaving the bill to one °f their principal clerks, asked whether the ac teptance was that of Mr. Henry Drummond : he *4l immediately answered in the affirmative.— lieh was the accuracy with which the imitation Was executed : he was still not satisfied, and re laested to see one of the principals. At last, t hrough - the medium of another banking house, 13 4 Wish was gratified, and the bill was actually taken down to Messrs. Drummond for inspection. The moment it was presented there, it was pro to:linseed a forgery. Mr. Clarke, of the firm of Finmore and Clarke, Solicitors to Messrs. Drummond, was then sent for, The City Marshal accompanied! a Gentleman to his cbamberi, and there found Mr. Davis, who Was taken into custody; and on being searched, t wo other bills, which proved to be forgeries; Were discovered. The execution of these, as well as of that which had been uttered, was inimitable. air: Davis subsequently underwent a private exa mination before the Lord Mayor, and was cow bitted to qiltspur-street Compter for a further 'Caring. In the interito his family became ac tl"ainted with his situation, and it is scarcely ecessary, to state how deeply their feelings "ere shocked. it was now considered desirable !;) dispos e of the situation which he held as ;• L ieutena n t of the Yeomen of the Guards, and 4 "r which his fattier had given 5,0001. For this I) 2 l rpos e app li cat i on was made, b at permission was refused. 'flue prisoner was to have under- V i ae his secon d exam i nat i on on T hursday, but o l ope still existin g t h at means wou ld b e foun d c _ M prevail on hi s M a j esty to permit the sale of the B ° tnission, i t was postpone d to Saturday. The ~e _ , e "T)d appli cat i on , h owever, proved alike unstic nsful with the first : and we understand the 7th i ce ha s actua ll y been conferred upon a gentle- Z . b of cons id era b le fame in dramatic literature. bether this intelligence had reached Mr. Davis L. ) , • w not ; but it a pp ears t h at h e did not 'Mc it prudent to await the result of a second led Ititnatton, tra which it WAS expected would have trial ' On his fi na l comm i tment to Newmtle for On FridaY, he effected his escape - from th e a _k; Mpter in the followi ng manner lt seems xit,t_e(ever s i nce hi s apprehension be . has been I by a lady who witS known as Airs. Par "l'l 43 well as by that lady's sister. His ser- Vaut Man too was in the habit of going to him vice a day to administer to his Wants, and to :tiring him those necessaries of which he stood - in need. Among other things he occasionally carried him a bag of clothes. For the last two or three days, this r:►an, who More a blue frock lis:ery coat, striped waistcoat a►ed gaiters, came to the prison with his jaws wrapped up in a black silk hand kerchief, as it he were affected with the tooth ache. The circumstance was noticed ,by Frost, the Turnkey, who happened to he hiwselt afflicted with rhenta►atic pains at the time, but nothitt , „; par ticular passed. On Friday morning, the servant came as usual with his bag .ot,' clothes, and with his jaw still wrapped in the black silk handker chief. Ile went up stairs to his' master's room, where be temained some time ; and at half-past one was supposed to have come clown -again, and was pet witted without the slightest su s picion to dep,rt by Frost. Thus matters tesied fur nearly an hour, when the sister of . Mr. Davis arrived and was' allowed to go to Mr. D•ivis's room ; she looked however in vain for him, and asked the wife of one of the turnkeys if she - knew where be teas ? An inquiry followed, and it was discovered hat he had escaped, amid that his servant still re ma next in the gaol. In tact, it turned out that the servant had brought in his bag a complete suit of livery cmilar to his own, in which he dressed his mister ; and then covering his face with a black silk handkerchief, and placing the bag, filled with other apprel, on his shoulder, together with his own hat on his head, sent him down stairs. The disguise was so effectual that i' answered the desired end. Frost was thrown off his,goard, and the prisoner got clear off 111r.Teagne, tbL Keeper of the Comprer, at this time was ;mewling his duty at the A.lansion I-loose, but h:2;ng appriird of what hac occoired, he lost no time in sending to every place where he thoitght it wis likely the fugitive mi'ht be concealed, hut all in vain. H.• also applied to Lord Sidnionth, awl nuclei his. Lordship's permis sion directions 'vere sent to the different outports to prevent escape that way, Ali. 'feitgne disocirenlated a placard offering one Hundred tinineas reYrard. The servant, upon being interrogated, stated, dial his name was Smnuel Coding, that lie had long lived with. Mr. Davis. lie said be was the best of masters, and be admitted !hat he h►►d been asked whether he would assist in his es..ape soon atter he was apprehended ? fie willingly agreed, but did not know the time fixed upon till lately, lie, did not know where his master was gone—he took no place in Any coach for him, nor did he engage any post-chaise on his account. The man then candidly described the manner in which his master had been disguised ; the clothes in which he went were exactly similar to those worn by himself. The. matter on Saturday underwent an exami nation bcfore the Lord Mayor, and the servant was put to the bar upon the charge of aiding the escape of his master. Mr. Drummond, attended by his Solici.or, Mr. Clarke, was present, as were MrJ Bpilaud, the Counsel, and Mr. Palmer, the Solicitor tor Mr. Davis, whose escape was to them a matter of surprise, as they were of opinion the evidence against him was not sufficient to Warrant his final commitment. The LORD MAYOR was distinctly of opinion that the persons of the servant and the master were by no means alike. The former was taller and much thinner than the latter. He therefore thought great blame was imputable to the turnkey, Frost. Mr. Teague said, that Frost had been 10 years a turnkey, and never made a mistake before. He bad every confidence in his integrity. He was , himself particularly anxious about Mr. Davis, be; cause be knew the great interest that was making in. his behalf, and was glad that the day had so nearly arrived when he should be relieved from what he considered to be so serio us a a:age. He had cautioned all his men to be upon their guard, and reminded them of the case of Lavalette, appre hending as be did, that his prisoner might attempt to escape in female attire. Ebenezer Siininel Frost, the iurnti . y, who was deceived, was then examined. Hie*eseribed the arrival of the servant, and hit, s4posed depar ture, and said, that the slightes('snspicion never , entered into. his ,mind of the' (rick which had been played upon him. Mr. Day 4 o . - 1 . when he went out, carried tne bag on his Prionlder, held his head down, and hadbis hat slduched so that he did not see his features.—This man ,has been sus pended. The LORD MAYOR said, that the servant should be prOsecoted at the expence of the city, and di rected that he should be remanded till Tuesday next. Tug THEATRE. —The second representation of Artaxerxes on Saturday last, at Drury-lane \The atre, was more successful than on the previous performance, and was - received with much greater applause. The Opera was followed by the revival of a piece very popular in its day, entitled liar lequin's intasion, but now called Shakespeare ver sus Harlequin. The purpose was to ridicule the taste for pantomime, which was so prevalent at that period, and to draw attention to the works ,of our great dtamatic Bard. The piece had ori ginally the support of KING, one of the chief comic actors of the titite, and then in the full strength of his powers, who was the Speaking Harlequin. Moony, PARSONS, Miss Pope, , and other excellent Performers, also exerted them selves in support of the piece, which was written by GARRICK. The plot was light and fanciful, the ditilogue was humorous, and a variety of characters gave spirit and humour to the general effect. It was revived on Saturday with a due all.)tmeot of the characters, all of %hie!) were well supported, particulatly that of Mercury by T. COOKE, OXBERRY 10 the Clown, NIUNDEN in Snip, KNIGET is Abraham, and DowToN as Cor poral Bounce. Nils§ Povey as Sukey Chinerlin, and Madame VEs - rats as Dolly Snip, deserve a commendatory notice. It is creditable to the Manager to have so well revived a piece written by GARRICK, and to the 'Performers who so well exerted themselves in support of it. Some new music, the joint production of Messrs. T. CooKe. "id R EB y e , does credit to both. The scenery is beanttfid and pic , uresque. The piece altogether was too long, and when properly retrenched will probably be attractive. ' tiitsThft.Si)Rit6 SATURDAY, - APRIL 8. SHOOTING AT BIRCH. THE STOCKPORT CON STABLE. . At the opening of the Court this day, it was nOt expected that the trial of Bruce and INl‘lnnis, for shooting at Birch, the Constable, world have been called 'oil, but immediately a s their Lord. ships took flieir seats it was commenced. The anxieties of all those present were immediately visible, and 'a solemn silence immediately prevail ed. After the usual formalities had been com plied with, the Jnry were called over, and the Clerk inlormed the prisoners, if they bad any ob.; jection to any of them they should state it before they were sworn. The prisoners made no objec tion. The Jury were sworn, and the Clerk of the 'Cour( proceeded with the indictment, which charged J,ct,b M lonis with and feloniously shouting at %Vinton) Birch, at Stockport, on the 231 of July last, and James George Bruce, otherwise George Janus Bruce, with wilfully and maliciously aiding and abetting the same. Bruce is rather a shabby, but intelligent look ing liming man, huncti-backed, and somewhat below the middle Size. His silver-mounted spec tacles were a complete contrast to his thread bare grey frock -coat, but 1.1;s deineatioqr alto gether evidently exhibited a epnsciousness of in nocence. N young and athletic man, with hair inclined •o be led, of fair complexion, and alto gether what is usually termed a smart made man. His dress was decent, and his behaviour modest. As soon as the Jury h ere seated, Mr. Batiyom rose so address the Jury, when Bruce sti'd—" My Lord, 1 wish for a copy of the indictment ; I have not had one. I have no money to porehas.e it, and I should like to read it es the trial goes on." BENyi)N—We have no objection to the i.t ,, uer's having a copy of it. The Couxr—You have a cony. Mr. Serjesnt Caoss—l do not object, my Lord, • to its being given, but I beg it to be understood the prisoner has no right to it. The Cast CT--:1lost undoubtedly, it most not be understood as a right, hut as a matter of cour tesy. 'fife prisoner lons applied for a copy ; the Counsel for the prosecution do wit object to his having one. and it is erauted as a courtesy. Mr. BENYON—My Lords and Gentlemen of the Jury, I need scarcely say, that the prisoners at the bar are charged with a crime of nearly as deep dye as that of murder. And had it not been for some supernatural interposition, they would have now been tried for that most mons.rous of all of fences. I shall state to you, Gentlemen, as slintily and as perspicuously the swore of the case and the character of the evidence l meab-to lay before you ; but your verdict must not he grounded on any thing I may say, it must solely depend upon the evidence. Gentlemen, you have heard the indictment read. M'lnnis is there charged with maliciously and feloniously shooting at one Mr, Birch, and Bruce, the other prisoner, with aid ing and assisting the first named prisoner its the commission of that crime. By an Act of the 43d George 111. chap. 58, it is enacted, that it any person wilfully . and unlawfully shoot at or-pre sent any loaded weaptin, or any species of fire arms, at any of his Majesty's subjects, or it any one aid or abet such person, in such case th e parties when convicted shall su ffer death. Then' there is a proviso in case death ensues, hot that . rather applies to cutting and stabbing, and I shall ',not further notice it.' In order to fix the prisoners with the crime charged against them in the ind jts: ascot, I shall produce evidence to shew you, Witt, in the month of July last, an indictment was pres . ferred at. the QUarterly Session's for this county against a dissenting teacher of the name of Har rison, and also against Sir Charles Wolseley, but that is of no matter at the present moment. Harri son thereon went out of the county, and the Magistrates issued what- is called a Bench War rant for his apprehension. This warrant was put into the hands of two active constables, Pass and Birch, who were charged to pot it in immediate execution. They quickly repaired to London, and there arrested Harrison at a public meeting which was held at Smithfield. They thence brought him to Stockport, where they ar rived shout eight o'clock on the evening of the 23(1 July. It was soon known that Harrison bad arrived, that he was in the custody of Birch, at Birch's house, and an immense concourse of peo ple immediately crowded round it. This assem blage intimidated Birch, and he left his house somewhat about ten o'clock, in order to take the advice of the Magistrates and Mr. Lloyd. As lie was going to a place called Loyalty -street, to the house of Mr—Lloyd, he was met by three men, who seemed to be in company with one another ; he was first accosted by one whom he had pre viously knowni,lbelieve it was by the prisoner Bruce, who entered into conversation with him, and asked if be had brought Harrison. To this 1 Birch replied lie had ; but as the people seemed to be urroanding hint, be began to feel consider able alarm. Birch then said he was going to on,' Sims, an acquaintance of Harrison's, to see if he would become one of his bail—for he was obliged to pretend he was the triend•of ,Harrison. Upon this the people surrounded him, and a pistol was -discharged at him. The mats who fired it did so, as if he were situated behind Bruce ; he saw the man place the pistol over Bruce's shoulder, and a ball was immediately lodged in the cavity of his chest. Considerable alarm ensued upon this ; he ran away, and was under the care of a surgeon for many months. On the testimony then of Birch alone, it will be clear that he was shot at by some one, and he will tell you, that of the three men who acted together he knew only one, who seemed as.if he were occupying his attention, while the others were preparing their wicked deed, and it will be for you, Gentlemen, to con sider why the prisoner Bruce so held Birch in conversation. With respect to James N•l'lnnis, as be is not taken, although known to be one of the party, I shall say nothing. With respect to Jacob M'lonis, one of the prisoners at the bar, it will be proved that he was one of the party who shot at Birch. Birch, however, had no previous knowledge of M.lnnss ; hut I am in stunted to say, that be had so distinct a view _ • 6f all theii cOutdenances, that he had no doub Jacob APlnnis was the man who sliest at him: Very soon after Birch was able to leave his bed he went to Chester Gaol, and on first seeing ll.Plnnis, had not the slightest hesitation in iden tifying him. If the evidence rested there, there would be 'an end of the case as to M'ltinis, guilt would be tinpestionably establishes]. Then as to Bruce, he is charged with aiding and abet ting the other prisoner, and you Gentlemen, will consider why lie delayed in conversation, couplet) with what afterwards occurred, and it wilt he for you to ascertain whether be be a parliceps crimMis or not. After the shot was fired, Bruce and the M'lnnises went away ; and if Bruce were inno cent, the manner of his going gave a very different indication. If really innocent, he would not have run away in company with those who fired. So tar, Gentlemen, I have stated to you the evi dence, as it will depend on Wm. 13ii - Ch. The nest witness I shall produce will be a young girl, al most a child, who lived in E lie house with Birch ; and though she only heard the name Bruce, ‘vill be able to confirm the greater portion of her uncle's testimony. She saw Birch stopped—!he three or four people who were near him go oft . ; she saw her uncle shot and run away, bin she cannot identify the person who did so. In ad dit;on to this, 1 shall call Win. Pear , on, if there can be any doubt as to the recollection of Birch. Pearson lodged in the same home and slept in the same bed with 3Acob before this affair ; he went out with him on the 23t! ; he saw the three toe it, whom he knew perfectly well; he saw them in conversation together before Bruce stopped Bitch , but being him self at the moment engaged iu conversation with a man of the name of Davis, he could not sic the hand of APlnnis lifted up when he fired the pistol. He saw the same three men run away, and in the hand of Al'lnnis he subsequently ceived a pistol, the smoke from which had not entirely vanished as it met his eye. lie then saw him put it into his pocket, but he did not see him, from the reason I have mentioned, Me the snot. Now, Gentlemen, in addition .to (his, i.e will tell yon that before he was twenty minutes at hove, atter the transaction, of certain conversation which he held with both the prisoners at the bar---,- Bituce--.lt the Attorney-General be instructed to say this, he is wrongly informed ; I was not at the lodgings of Al'lnhis 5 i did nut know hint then. The Cob RT—You roust not interrupt. ,Ir. Justice Alm-v-ILL—You t)id better be quiet. BRUCE—My Lord, I only intended to prevent a mis-statemeut that might prejudne my. case. Mr. BENeoza—The mistake was mine ; I di,l not intend it ; Bruce wns not at the place of which I have spoken; it was Jiinies M'leuis, the bro ther of the prisoner at the bar; William Pearson will disclose the conversation that passed atter the shooting at Birch, and it will be tor you, Gen tlemen, connecting all the transaction's togeth et, to see how far the charges in the indictment can be fixed upon these prisoners whose case you are now called on to decide. It any doubt can arise as to Birch's recollection, you wilt have the evi dence of Pearson coafirmatory of it, which will be particularly material, inasmuch as he saw evety pert of •the transaction but the actual fir• ing. I. have many witnesses to spew you the foul attempt was made by somebody, and that .Birch was wounded, but this 1 do not think neces sary. One or two may, however, be brought up to these 6cts, it we shaiiid see any necessity for so doing. Gentlemen, I shall now merely state ao you, that an ex'raordinary cry was raised atter this occurrence of Birch's having shot himself, a_ fact which evidently proves that there was sonic previous cohlederacy existing against him. M'ln eis admitted he was one of the people assembled at Stockport when the event tot* place; he ad mitted the same in Ireland ; and all that Bruce said was, although one of those who were there, he took no part whatever in the hortible transac tion. During the confinement of Whinis he at tempted to break out of gaol, but God forbid it should bring such a circumstance to bear against burn, now that he is on his trial for so serious an offence. I have now, Gentlemen, closed my observations; '1 have merely stated the na ture of the evidence I mean to bring before you, and I have no doubt you will give such a ver dict as will be satisfactory to your conscience and the interests of justice and your country. \Valiant Birch examined by Sedeant CROSS—I had a person of the name of Harrison at my own house on the 23d of Jaly ; I went to Mr. Lloyd's house ablaut 20 minutes before 10, it was in the dusk of the evening ; there was light enough to discern the features of any person ; the distance I was going was more than 100 pods ; on my way i met a number of persons in the street ; it was well known Harrison was my prisoner ; I stepped as I went along, and met with Bruce, whom I had known for many months; two or three others were coming up the street as 1 was going down ; when he (Bruce) stopped they stop ped ; they were not exactly abreast, though near each other; there were four of them ; they tormed a party to themselves on my stopping ; be fore they . stopped they appeared as one party ; when Bowe - made the stop with me, they went off about a yard, or a little more, but not two yards ; I ant not Certain, on my meeting Bruce, whether he or I spoke first. On Bruce and me stopping, they all stopped, nor can 1 remember which stopped first ; the moment we met we stop ped together. I knew Bruce at that time by ileum; I believe Bruce asked rue if I had broiight, Harrison to my house ; that was the first thing he said, to which I replied, Harrison was at my house, and at that moment a matt towards my Itift ; Bruce was then right in front of me, aed then a man came on the left, and walked on ti I he carne to my rear ; l kept my eyes on !Since all the tone be was coming ; I had particular rea son to look round, as a great crowd assembled itt the st eat around my house ; but still I kept not toy couversioioa with Bruce, whom 1 asked it a man I saw near, as he was a friend ta Harrisi.n, would be one of his bail. Bruce said, he had not seen him this last hour. These were his word , .— ily this time the man who was in my rear mot t d back gio until he came in front of me. Wh,n I made the ioviry about Sims, Harrison's friend. Bruce looking towards the man had stopii " : ~ y