The Express.
London, England, 1862-10-29 00:00:00

CENTRAL CRIMINAL COURT.

(Before the Recorder.)
Leopold &hake, 39, a German, stated in the calendar to
be an agent, was charged with obtaining 640 yard, of
woollen cloth by false pretences ; and in a second count of
the indictment the prisoner was charged jointly with an-
other person named Henry Cowan, with conspiring together
fraudulently to obtain possession of the mine property.
Mr. Metcalfe and Mr. F. H. Lewis appeared for the pro-
secution ; Mr. Ribton was counsel for the defence.
The prosecutors of this indictment were the Tees Woollen
Company, who carry on their business at Barnard Castle,
Durham, and who have an agency in London, in Iron-
monger-lane, in the City. It appeared that wan, the
person included in the indictment with the prisoner, who,
there was no doubt, was the prime mover in the affair, and
' who, it was stated, has absconded from this country, occu-
pied a small office in Union-court, Old Broad-street,
where he ostensibly carried on the occupation of an im.
porter of foreign goods, and that the prisoner was emyloyed
by him in the capacity of a clerk. At the commencement
of the present year it seemed that Cowan entered
into some negotiation with the agent of the prosecutors
for the purchase of their goods, and a quantity of cloth
was supplied to him at different periods ; but the transac-
tions that were the subject of inquiry took place between
the Ist and the 14th of August. It appeared that Cowan
bad applied to the prosecutors for certain goods at this
period, and that a quantity of cloth was sent to him, the
invoiced price of which was 5041. 12s. 2d., and upon the
prosecutor,' pressing for money to be paid on account,
Cowan gave them 1601. in two payments, and be also pro-
mised, with reference to the last parcel of goods. to hand
over the receipt of the packer for them, which they were
to hold until more money was paid on moonlit. Cowan
did subsequently give to Mr. Walker, the manager of the
company, what purported to be the receipt of persona
carrying on the business of packers in Jewio-street, but
which turned out to be a fictitious document; and it was
proved that on the very day when the receipt referred to
was given, the prisoner had applied to Mr. Venables, •
woollendrayer in Aldgate, to purchase a quantity of woollen
cloth, which be said belonged to a shipper who was premed
for money. The result of this application of the prisoner
was that Mr. Venables purchased the property that bad
been sent to Cowan by the prosecutors, at a discount of
35 per cent upon the price at which the goods had
been invoiced. The prisoner appeared to have been present
when several of the circumstances took place between Cowan
and Mr. Walker, and this appeared to be the only evidence
agsiost him, with this additional fact, that when he was
taken into custody by Funnell, one of the City detectives,
and he was asked what had become of the property that had
been obtained by Cowan from the prosecutors, he made
the false statement that he knew nothing about it. and
he supposed that it was shipped abroad as it was intended
to be.

In the course of the case some observations were made by
Mr. Metcalfe of a disparaging character in reference to the
conduct of Mr. Venable' in purchasing the goods that bad
been obtained under the circumstances above stated, at so
greet a reduction from the price at which they had been
originally invoiced ; but that gentleman, in his evidence,
stated that it was I very common practice for persons in
trade, who were pressed for money, to dispose of property
very much under its value. He also said that with refer-
ence to the particular parcels of goods that he had pur-
chased from Cowan, lie had paid the full market value of
them, and that be had himself purchased woollen cloth of
the same description from the prosecutor, themselves, at
even a less price than he had paid Cowan.
Mr. Ribton, at the close of the case for the prisoner,
submitted that there was no evidence to support the
charge against the prisoner. He would not say anything in
reference to the share Cowan appeared to have taken in the
transaction, but all the prisoner was proved to have done
was nothing more than he was justified in doing as his clerk,
and there was nothing) to show that he had any guilty
knowledge in the transaction.
The Recorder said it appeared to him that if there was
any case at all in reference to the charge of conspiracy, it
was certainly a very weak one, and that there was no evi-
dence whatever to support the charge of obtaining the
goods in question by Übe pretences.
The jury appeared to be of the same opinion that had been
expressed by his lordship, and they, therefore, without
troubling Mr. Ribton to address them on behalf of the pri-
soner, returned a verdict of Not guilty.
Frederick Godwin, 30, clerk, and Joseph Burgoyne, 37,
ehopmao, pleaded guilty to a charge of stealing 1,150 yards
of silk, value 250/., the property of Henry Tucker and others.
Mr. Cooper and Mr. Edward Beeley were instructed to
prosecute in this case on behalf of the Great Northern Rail-
way Company,. Mr. Sleigh appeared forthe prisoner Godwia ;
the other prisoner was undefended.
Mr. Cooper informed the oourt that the prisoner Godwin
was employed as the principal clerk at a booking office
belonging to Mr. Fenian, in Gresham-street, and the other
prisoner was his brother-io-law, but be was not employed
in the same establishment. On the 23rd of August, it
appeared that Medan. Baker, Tucker, and Co., silk ware.
houseroom io Gresham-street, sent a package of silk to Mr.
Farriers gooking-offios, to be transmitted to Means. Phil-
lippe and Co., of Manchester, by the Great Northern Rail-
way, and the prisoner Godwin took possession of this
package, and nothing more was heard of it afterwards. until
it was ascertained that Burgoyne had pawned a portion of
its contents at different pawnbroker,. There was this cir-
cumstance of aggravation in the case of Godwin, that it
' appeared he had induced the carman who cotveyed away
the different packages from the booking-office on the day in
question to sign a receipt for twenty-oue parcels, while he
contrived to keep back the package containing the silk, so
that in the first instance suspicion was thrown upon the
carman, who was entirely inooceut.
Mr. Sleigh addressed the court on behalf of Godwin in
mitigation of punishment, sod he urged that his character
had formerly beenunimpeachable, and that this was the
first time he had ever been charged with any offence.
' The Recorder, in passing sentence, said that the offence
of the prisoner Godwin was a very bad one. He was in a
position of trust end confidence, and had the charge of pro-
perty to an enormous amount passing through his hands,
and he bad abused the confidence that was reposed iu him,
and had stolen property of considerable value. There woe
also this additional aggravation in his co, duct, that he had
attempted to throw blame upon an innocent map by in-
ducing him to sign a receipt for a huger number of packages
than he had actually received, and, under all the circum-
stances, he felt himself compelled to sentence him to three
years' penal servitude. With regard to the other prisoner,
it appeared that he had previously borne a very good cha-
racter, and all he appeared to have done was to dispose of
the property after it had been stolen by his companion, and
his case was, therefore. a very different one, and the mu-
tancelisiciiirldni would be nine months' imprisonment and
hard
George Pearson, 27, a young man of gentlemanly appear.
ance, pleaded guilty to a charge of uttering a bill of exchange
for 85!. 15s. _ _

He was also charged with uttering two forged orders for
the payment of 2011/. each, and likewise with uttering two
forged 101. Bank of England motes, knowing them to have
been forged ; sod to these charges the prisoner also pleaded
guilty.
Mr. Sleigh who, with Mr. Ciffard, was instructed to pro-
secute on behalf of the Bankers' Association for the Pre-
vention of Forgery and Fraud, informed the court that the
prisoner was very respectably connected, and be had for-
merly been in the service of Mans. Willis, Feroevall, and
Co., the banker,, and he believed had conducted himself
properly while in that service. The charges against him were
that in the first instaoce he succeeded in getting cash for •
forged bill of exchange for 85!. 15e., and that after that he
attempted to pas. two forged cheque. for 20W. each, but
was not succesaful in either case. With regard to the
charges of uttering the forged Bank of England notes,
although be was not instructed in those cases. he might
inform his lordship that the prisoner went to the London
and County Bank and paid in two forged 10/. Bank notes,
asking for • letter of credit upon • bank at Windsor, but
the forgery was detected, and the prisoner was apprehended
upon his making application at the bankers at Windsor for
the money.
Mr. Taylor, who appeared for the prisoner, said he was
instructed by his friends to say • few words on his behalf,
and the case was one undoubtedly of a most melancholy
character. He could not deny that the prisoner bad en-
tered upon a most formidable career of crime, hut he belted
to induce his lordship to believe that it was but the com-
mencement of • career. and that if be were dealt with
leniently, he might still be able to retrieve his character.
The prisoner was most respectably connected, his father
was forty years employed in the Bank of England, and
the prisoner himself was for six years in the
serviced Moors. Willis, Percevall, and Co., the respectable
firm whose name had been mentioned, and he conducted
himself with the utmost propriety while in that employ-
ment, and he left solely in consequence of • little infirmity
of temper leading to a dispute with soother clerk, and he
was ahaid that this was the commencement of hie rain.
He wedded in obtainieg soother situation, at the Union
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