The Press.
London, England, 1854-07-22 00:00:00

THE PRESS.

When the police came, a minute search was made. It ap-
peared as if an entrance was effected by the balcony. The thieves
had broken open three desks and three drawers, and had rifled
them of their contents. From the shop-window several instru-
ments were gone. They were all there safe on Saturday night.
che instruments were packed up on the back counter ready
arryiug away. Other portious of property were foundfor in
different parts of the house. The value of the whole was
about 1001.
The police arrested a man named Anderson who
was seen walking away, and, on searching him, found
a knife, thirteen mouthpieces, two keys, a pencil-
case, and two "jemmies " on his person. As he
also resisted and attempted to escape when first
apprehended, the magistrate at Marlborough-street
Police-office before whom he was examined ordered
him to be committed for trial.
THE CLAIM OF A TAILOR for 01. due for clothes sup-
plied was resisted lately at the Marylebone County
Court upon somewhat curious grounds. The de-
fendant, a man named King, did not deny the receipt
or the value of the articles supplied, but raised a
quibbling objection founded on an obsolete statute of
George 1., enacting " that no person in England shall
make, sell, or sew on any clothes, buttons or button-
holes made or bound with cloth, serge, camblets, or
druggets, or any other stall, under a penalty of 40s.
for every dozen buttons so made." The act further
provided that no person could recover the price
charged for clothes made without buttons of gilt ma-
terial, the object being to encourage the "Brumma-
gem " tiade of the day. As it was shown, first, that
the aforesaid law, absurd as it was, had never bean re-
pealed, and, secondly, that the present plaintiff could
not pretend to have affixed the legal gilt buttons to
the coats supplied to the defendant, judgment
was perforce given against him. The defendant
afterwards announced by the mouthpiece of his
counsel that he should in due course sue the
plaintiff for the penal ties enacted under the statutes
in question.
A DEFENDANT, named William Meade, who seems
to have well deserved his description on the charge-
sheet as " astute looking," was charged with a long
series of deceptions at Worship-street Police Court.
His crimes have already been investigated there
more than once. Their history begins six years ago,
and was thus stated before thy magistrate :
In the month of June, 1848, the prisoner established himself
in a respectable-looking house at Camberwell, where he shortly
after iutroduced himself to two tradesmen named Smith and
Goodwin, and, after dealing with them for several weeks, and
paying for their goods with extreme punctuality, at length exhi-
bited a copy of the Times, and, pointing to an advertisement
from the Solicitor to the Treasury for the next heir of one David
Meade, announced himself as that heir, and proceeded to state
that he had money in the funds to the extent of 25,0001., and
that the landed and other estates into which he had fallen
amounted at least to 200,0001, In further confirmation of his
representation, he produced a number of letters, purporting to
be from gentlemen in the India-house and the Bank, recog-
nising him in that character, though, as may be imagined, the
whole of these documents were forgeries. By these and other
letters the prisoner, upon pretence of wanting money to establish
his claim and defray the expense of law proceedings in France,
where, ho &aid, part of his property was situated, obtained from
Mr. Smith goods and money to the amount of about 201.; but so
cleverly did he contrive to deceive Mr. Goodwin that that per-
son not only furnished a house for him, and kept it well stocked
with provisions and every imaginable requisite for two clear
years, but paid the expenses of post-chaises and other vehicles,
which the prisoner meted at his door sometimes by five or six
in the morning, to enable him to make alleged business journeys
both in this country and France for the arrangement of his af-
fairs, until, in the whole, the prisoner hal contrived to extract,
in money and money's worth, within a fraction of 2501. It was
then discovered that the prisoner had been snugly ensconced in
bed on several of the occasions when these carriages were wait-
ing for him, and, on Mr. Goodwin demanding a settlement, the
prisoner gave him promissory notes, to be discharged " out of
my estates," and then absconded from that neighbourhood with-
out paying him one sixpence. About eighteen months after
that, Mr. Smith, who had been in unwearied pursuit of him,
traced hint to Mare-street, Hackney, in very comfortable circum-
stances. hut, on serving him with a writ at the suit of another
tradesman he had victimised, the prisoner suddenly absconded,
and was again lost sight of for some time.
Other witnesses accounted for this interval, which
the prisoner had evidently occupied in running up
debts and obtaining advances upon fraudulent pre•
tences of similar character to those employed against
the above-mentioned prosecutors. A City detective
police-officer stated that, notwithstanding the inge-
nuity displayed, and the large amount of the frauds
perpetrated, the prisoner had until lately been no-
thing more than a common farm labourer, employed
by a farmer at Mark's Tey, Essex. At the close of
the investigation he was fully committed to Newgate
for trial upon several charges of fraud and false pre-
tences.
AN INSOLVENT named James William Howell
appeared in Portugal-street, upon his application for
discharge from the liabilities he had incurred as the
director of, or shareholder in, various projected
companies :
It appeared that the insolvent was only 22, and had in about a
year incurred debts and liabilities to 1,8001. lie had been ma-
nager of " The Realm Insurance Company," and a director of a
company called " The London and County Hotel Company,"
which was provisionally registered. Two other persons named
Hanuen and Madelow were connected with it. An advertise-
ment appeared for a person who could advance money, and be
was to be appointed secretary. A person of the name of Cooper
answered the advertisement, and the result was that he ad-
vanced 5001., taking a bond from the insolvent. The company
was a failure, and Mr. Cooper opposed for the manner in which
he had been deprived of his money. From another opposing
creditor (a Mr. Cochrane, &jeweller) the insolvent obtained two
gold watches and a chain. One of the watches he presented to