The Express.
London, England, 1851-04-03 00:00:00

ASSIZE INTELLIGENCE.

NORFOLK CIRCUIT.—Bear Sr. EDMUND'S,

APRIT
_2.

........
The Crown Corset was opened this morning before the Lord
.1 Jervis, at 10 ei clock. Ilk lordship, in his charge
Lathe grant jury, regretted that on this, his first visit to
the county of Suffolk, the calendar should present so appal-
ling an appearance, there being no fewer than five charges
of wilful and deliberate murder, eleven of ar'nn, and a
more than usual number of other very serious offences.
Toy RIOT AT BARHAM UNION-HorSt.
Considerable interest was excited to hear the trial of the
paupers who took part in the disturbances at this union-
house in the 9th of February last.
Ilohert (insure, Edward Ramplin. James Marjoram, W.
Plantin, H. Pang, J. Amass, 11-in. Sillett, and A.
Nailer were severally charged with the offence. The first
three pleaded guilty, the remainder not guilty. It appearecl
from the es Menet of the late grill rnor of the house and
other witnesses that on the 9th of February, the bowie
bring unusually full at the time, as soon as grate hail been
said after supper, he heard A shout in the able-bodies'
married men's ward, and this wai r..'sponded to from the
single men's ward; this preyed to h, a signal for a general
riotous outbreak, for about 40 or :r0 of the paupers pro-
ceeded to fi,ree shown the walls which separated class from
class, and to force their way into the bread-mom, the count-
ing-house. and board-ronm. In COH,CIIO,9Ice of some ap-
prehended disturbance for the few days immediately
preceding the outbreak, two or three police-officers
had beets kept privately in the house; these were
called in, but posed quite insufficient; a larger body
was scut fur, but the paupers were too many to
attack. The consequence was that the paupers held
complete mastery of the house for about five hours. The
military were sent fur from Ipswich, hut as the command-
ing officer would lot allow them to dismount they proved
of no service whatever. After another hour*s delay a second
reinfomement of police arrived, when the rioters acre over-
come, and the ringleaders taken into custody and conveyed
to Ipswich gaol. The eight prisoners were supposed to be
the leaders in the affray. One of the poliee-affirms was
struck by a stone in the eye, and he swore to its having
been thrown ut him by the prisoner NuPer. Jeremiah
Sharman, a paegeo., heard Amass say " Go ahead—take care
of your knives, and protect yourselves." He also hurled a
table thmeoh is window. The schoolmiestrr of the union-
house saw Noller and Itamplin le:ekisig the pactition down I
. and James Moore saw sillett engaged in the some work of
demolition. lip this kind of evidence all the prisousr., with
. the exception of I'lantin, who was only proved to be present
in the 14'11,01.m the riot occurred, were moved to have been
, concerned in the affair.
Amass, who was undefended, raid he was asleep with his
children in the sick sand, and about two in the moniing
was awoke by the governor, and told to go into his own
ward; iu diming so the miliceman said " Uh here's another
fellow," and he was taken into custody.
The Chief Justice said the law was perfectly clear with
regard to riots, and it admitted of no dispute that the con-
duct on this occasion constituted a riot, and that a ferocious
series of assault. took place upon the police end the whirrs
of the union. From this they might conclude that any pri-
mmer proved to have taken any active part was guilty of
the charge imputed to them.
The jury immediately returned a verdict of Guilty against
all the prisoners except Plantin.
His lordship sentenced the seven to one year's imprison-
ment with hard labour.

NORTIIEILN CIItCUIT.7-LivEnrooL, Amu. 2.

CIOWII Coca?.
EXIZNIIIVE SWINDLING.
William Russell, 47, Frederick Ir. P. RtasrP, 20, his
son, and Edward Orford, 42, were indicted fur racing, at
Heaton Norris, conspired together to obtain goods by 4,lse
pretences. There were no has dila I I winos iu the
meet, varying the allegations, to theat Michael Simms,
Frederick J eases, Robert Br man, and others.
At the commencement of the trial the elder Russell
applied to the court in reference to his defence, which he
said had be en entrusted to Mr. Owen, solicitor, of Liver-
pool, to instruct touns4; but that gentleman, having re-
ceived 2f. fur the purpose, had, as alleged, neglected to do
so. Mr. Pollock, the barrister, stated that Mr. Owen had
offered him the brief and the money referred to, but as that
was all that Mr. Owen received fur his own services, he
declined to take the brief under such circumstance,. It
was statist by Mr. Owen to the court that he had adiised
the prisoner Russell to assign over his property before being
arraigned. It transpired that the sou, who was a deteu,lunt
in a previous ea., had sold all the goods ow, and gone away
with the proceeds.
The tints of the case disclosed extensive frauds. The
defendants had taken a small plate at No. 4, Avenue-
street, Stockport, whence they S, ere in the habit of
writing to polies carrying on business iu various parts of
the country for samples of goods, under the pretence that
such goods were required iu their nosiness. From Mr.
Michael Simms, rope and twine maker of Illuckley, they
had obtained a considerable quantity of twine and coils of
rope; from Mr. Charles Pratt, corn merchant, Stratford-
upon-Avon, a large supply of wheat and grain of different
sorts ; and, in snort, goods of all kiuds that people would
entrust them with. At the button of their printed circu-
lars, which were headed " Edward Orford and Cu.," they
had a line, " Na. I, Aveuue-street, Stockport, and ut
lien-
cliff Mill ;" but a witness named Jackson, who descrilwd
himself as a "law agent,- and who had Neva employed to
attend the place iu Stockport during the day, said he never
saw Mr. Orford there, nor the elder Russell more than half
dozen time', but the younger prisoner called three or how
times a week. There was a letter-box outside the door
and all letters found therein were given to one or other of
ithe Russells. Any parcels that came the witness was di-
' reeted to convey to the railway ut Heaton Norris
limmediately, to be forwarded to Manchester, where
1 one of the Russells usually received them. The first
Out he conveyed in this way was 26 socks of wheat, and
afterwards ;lame rope and twine ; if any goods were left at
I the office, even for a shoe time, the old direction was to be
taken otr, and witness's name, " Win. Jackson, Man-
chester," put ion lle received likewise some hampers
of cheese and a large quantity of leather, which were
sent to Manchester in the saute way as the other goods.
Mr. Pratt deposed that he had supplied the prisoners
with wheat to the amount of SW. which he hod
rc-
eeitd a bill of exelunage, purporting to he drawn by Thos.
Tipping, of Liverpool, upon ;red tievepted by A. S. Phil-
lips, Manchester, end indorsed by " Edward Orford and
Sun," but that bill had been returned dishonoured, and had
never been paid. Before it arrii ed at maturity he received
a printed circular from the superintendent of police at
Stockport, stating that the parties calling themselves " E.
Orfurd and Sun," ut that place, had been taken up for

swindling.
The carrier who had usually been employed to remove
the goods from Stockport to Slanchester, deisowal, that lie
was on one Ottig4ol/ employed by the two Russells to remote
some wheat, cheese, and leather, all at the same time, trout
the Stockport railway to Slancliester, but receives strict
orders not to let the people at the statiuo know where the
goods were taken tu. lie also removed some ropes and
twine for them.
The younger Russell hail made a written statement to
Mr. Sadler, the indefatigable chief constable of Stockport,
to this effect
"The firm of Orford and Co. was first established in
Lloyd-street. Stanee-Ater, under the name of E. arid J.
°trued and Co., but after getting larga qu entities of goods,
and the rent not being paid, the landlord took away the
door of the place: afterwards they went to George-street,
Manchester, under the name of Offord. Brothers, but wet
with little or no SAM:COSS. llaviug obtained a trues of flannel,
liar which they hail not paid, awl the man coming for it
lock, lie broke opec the door awl took it away ; and
the man who had painted the Ratite up nut being
paid, he went and broke all the windows; they then la it.
They afterwards went to Levenshulme, under the name of
Payne and Orford, uud got two small lots of wheat from
Tewkesbury, which I sold for them. There was no Payne
there at any time, but Mrs. Olfurd's maiden name was
Payne. They then removed to Stockport,where they carried
on under the firm of Orford and Son ; but he has nu sou '
older than 9 years. They there gut different lots of goods,
which 1 have sold for them,sir.., wheat, rope, twine,cheese,
and leather. The wheat came from C. Pratt, of Leaming-
ton; the cheese from Baker, of 'Melton Mowbray; the
leather frum Harvey, of Yarmouth; the rope and twine
from Sims and James. Bills were given for these
goods, which were drawn by Benj. Clegg, who wrote
them all out for about ;is. or is. each to any amount.
Ile is to be found at a beer-house about mid-
way in Church-street at any time. I have seen
him du it for Orford. They used to give me sac much
per cent. for the goods I sold then.. I never got what they
said it cost them, sometimes not one-half; but they re-
marked that "it was cheap enough to them." I have
sold rope that cost Sil. per lb. for 30. and 1.1. per lb. They
used to divide the money b:fore they paid me, and when-
ever I sold any wheat to Collins, they used to wait for tho
money at a public-house in Ilangingilitch. When 1 could
not sell the goods 1 took them to Sam Minter's in Tib-
street, and borrowed money on them. He used to charge
2s. fal. in the pound for a month, and if not redeemed in
that time, the inures were forfeited. This is often the ease,
not only with them but others, and his place is often full
of goods forfeited in this manner. On selling wheat to
Collins I sold him the sacks also, as my father and
Offord (not Orford) said the sacks were useless to
them. Since I have been in custody, all my
goods have been sold, through Offunl saying it
was his house and not mine. The wheat that
came from Mr. Beaton of Moreton, was for my father, and
Robert lbekens, who was in partnership with him at that
time. When they were in Lloyd-street they got flannel to
the value of 109/., and leather to the same amount ; and in
Stockport they got enormous quantities of goods of all
kinds. I have beard since I have been in prison that the
B. Clegg I have referred to has been tried and sentenced in
Manchester for the bill system. I have taken Si many as
159 letters from Manchester to Stockport iu the course of
three days; they were written in different handwritings, so
as not to be known by the postmaster. The lot of twine
that came from James was invoiced at 16/. odd ; I sold it for
them for St Ils., and 2} off; they used to get from ten to
twenty letters a slay from all parts of the kingdom. The
Benteliffe Works referred to in the circulars is partly
let to Howard and Russell, or Thos. Bonner and Co., or J.
Howard, and a part is called Lade Well Works; the
place is at Eccles. My father and bfford were going to
cave Benteliffe works without paying the rent, as they
said they should get into some trouble about it, for not
putting machinery in it. 111 were examined, I could give
some more information ; and I should not say this if I were
guilty, but I am as innocent as a child, as both my father
and Offord know.—(Signed) k'. W. P. Itessett.
.• The goods that came never used to stop above one night
in the place, as they thought the people would fetch them
back ; the goads used to be sent to Manchester. While they
were in George-street and Lloyd-street, and also I think in
btockport, they were references as to the respectability and