The Express.
London, England, 1851-09-25 00:00:00

divers obsess* prints, books, sad repro.

gestations.
Mr. Climbing and Mr. Bodkin appeared for the prosecu-
tion, instructed by the Society for the Suppression of Vice,
and Mr. &rigout Chadwick Jones and Mr. Metcalfe ap-
peared for the prisoner.
Mr. Clarkson shortly opened the case to the jury, and,
having characterised the prosecution as one of considerable
public importance, striking as it did at the root of an evil of
a polluting and most abominable influence, the learned
gentleman shortly stated the facts which derwards were
given in evidence, and which may be thus generally given:
—On the 2nd of September, from information they had
received, Inspector Lewis, of the Thames police, and an
officer of customs, and Sergeant Chadwick, of the F divi-
sion of metropolitan police, went to Holy welt-street, Strand,
fur the purpose of making a search at a shop kept by the
prisoner in that street. The prisoner, in fact, kept two
shops there, numbered respectively, 16 and 37, and it was
to the latter that the attention of the officers was directed.
As they were proceeding along the street, they
were observed by a person of the name of Sharp,
who was standing at the door of thirty-seven, and
he, the moment he recognised them, rushed into the shop,
and immediately cause out again, when the shop door was
at once shut from the inside. On reaching the shop the
officers found the door fastened, and, after waiting there
tar about ten minutes, they were informed by the prisoner,
who emerged from a side door leading from the shop into
Passing-alley, that they could then come in. They then
passed into the shop, and on going to a fire-place at the
back part of the shop, they found evidence of Sharp
having given the prisoner the cffice," as it was termed,
that is, having warned him of the approach of the officers.
Chao by the fire-place they found a mass of burnt prints
and books, some of which were only partially consumed.
A search was made, and the result was that the officers took
possession, front various parts of the premises, including
the shop window, of a large quantity of French lithographic
prints, some lithographic stones ready for press, copper
plates, books, coloured engravings, &c., the whole of which ,
were of a most disgusting and abominable description.
Ultimately they took away from the premises 882 books
3,870 prints, 110 catalogues, 9 lithographic stones, several
copper plates, and 16 cwt. and 9 lb. of letter-press uneewn,
altogether two heavy cart bads. A number of them were
produced in court and submitted to the jury.
The learned counsel for the defence cross-eaarnined the
witnesses with the view of showing that they had no legal
' authority to enter upon sod search the premises, and that
the greater part of the most objectionable books and pic-
tures were taken from a private room at the back of the
shop, and not from the shop itself. From their an it
; appeared that the room alluded to was part of the shop, and
as to their authority it appeared that Chadwick acted upon
information, and a request conveyed to him from the Society
for the Suppression or Vice, and that in consequence of a
communication made by him to Inspector Lewis, who had
r a general authority, as a customs officer, to search for
, prohibited French prints, they went to the premises and
made the search.

At the cunclusign of the case fur the prosecution Mr.
Serjeant C. Jones submitted that the seven counts in the
indictment were bad, and as there was no count charging
I.iin with exposing them fur sale, there was no evidence
upon which the indictment could go to the jury.
The learned Judge said that could only be urged in arrest
ofjudgment, and nut as to the came going to the jury.
Mr. Serjeant Jones said he had to submit to the mutt
that, in point of law, the officers had no legal right to enter
the premises. They could only search the house by virtue
of a warrant of a magistrate ; and as the search, therefore,
was illegal, he should contend that anything that tran-
spired in the house could not be given in evidence against
the prisoner.
The learned Judge said it was clear that Lewis had a
right to search for pictures the importation of 11 hich into
this country was forbidden.
Mr. Serjeant Jones then addressed the jury for the pri-
soner. He was nut, he said, exerting himself to procure
the escape from justice of a man who had been instrumental
in circulating such filth as had been produced, but his duty
was to see that the evidence given was such as to justify
the jury in convicting the prisoner, and to satisfy the pro-
visions of the law. lie commented on the evidence, and
urged that, in point of fact, the case was not made out.
The learned Judge, in summing up, said if the prisoner
bad indecent prints in his possession with the intention of
selling them, he was guilty of an offence against the law.
The jury would have, therefore, to be satisfied that the
hooks and prints produced were indecent, and that the
prisoner had them in his possession with intent to sell, pub-
lish, and diseminatc them. Ile alluded to the nature of
the worst of the prints and books, and said, no doubt possibly
could be entertained as to their being indecent, and alter re-
marking that a quantity of them were found in a room which
at least was the adjunct to the shop, with labels affixed, de-
noting the prices at which they could be purchased, he
asked them if that was sufficient to show that he had them
with intent to tell them.
The jury returned a verdict of Guiliy. •
Mr. Serjeant Jones then moved in arrest of judgment on
the point Ito had already submitted, and after some dis-
mission,
The learned Judge said he should not respite the sen-
tenee, but leave the prisoner to his writ of error; and
further, be would consider the matters urged by the priso-
ner's counsel, and state before Michaelmas term whether he
would grant a case fur the court of criminal appeal.
Mr. Clarkson urged, in aggravation, that the prisoner had
been convicted of this offence three times previously. He
had been engaged in the disgusting traffic since 182.5, and
there was no doubt that he was the prime circulator of
publications of this character, and that it was he who sup-
plied the abomination to the retail dealers in the metropolis.
The learned Judge said, the prisoner had been convicted,
on the clearest evidence, of a very serious offence, and be
was very old in this species of crime. As to liolywell-
street, he would say nothing on that occasion, further than
that this ought to have been a parish prosecution, and the I
parish authorities ought not to have suffered this great abo-
mination to exist so long as it had done. He heard that
the parish authorities had held a meeting, at which he was
censured for what lie had said from that seat, with regard
to Newcastle-court, but let the authorities of this grossly
misconducted parish look to themselves. If report were'
true, Newcastle-court had been cleared in consequence
of what he said, and he hoped the ease would be the result
with regard to Holywell.street, by the abominations of
which the morality_of the whole population of the metropo-
lis was affected. He then sentenced the prisoner to be im- '
prisoned in the House of Correction for two years, on each
count of the indictment, each commencing and terminating
at the same time, and to find afterwards sureties, himself
in 501., and two others in Vif. each, to be of good behaviour
for ono year further.