The Express.
London, England, 1851-04-23 00:00:00

THE EXPRESS, WEDNESDAY EVENING, APRIL 23, 1861

THE ROBBERY AT THE WALTHAM ABBEY
00VERNMENT POWDER WORKS.

APRIL 22.
The four men charged with being concerned in the
dazing robbery effected on the night of the Bth inst., at she
storekeeper's office of the Royal Powder Works, near this
town, were brought up for re-examination this day, before
the bench of magistrates, who on this occasion sat in the
newly erected County Court
The prisoners answered to their names as George Rowe,
Jah Cornish, Charles Eve, and Jesse Griffiths. The first
dinned, it has been already stated, is the keeper of a public
lime, called the Three Compasses, in this town ; Curnish
Mil lee have hitherto been employed on the government
works, and Griffiths is described as an itinerant
The brief deposittins of Inspector Lund and Mr. Topping,
Ste government store-keeper, the only two whiniest
meamised at the previous bearing on Thursday last, hay*
Mae- and over,
Mr. Prentice briefly stated the ease for the prosecution,'
and said that he proposed to charge Cornish and Eve with
the robbery, Griffiths es an accessory before and Aar the
fact, and Rowe with receiving the goods, knowles
tlt
to have been stolen.
The first witness called was Mr. Henry Topping. He
aid-1 am the storekeeper at the Waltham Abbey
Royal Gunpowder Works. There is an irun chest in a
closet adjoining my office. On the morning of the
Bth instant, 1 placed in that chest eighteen 201.
notes, and 961. its. 2d. in gold, silver, and copper
moneys. 'There were nearly as many half-sovereigns
as sovereigns in the gold money. There was, besidos,about
IV. in gold and silver of my own money in the chest. The
whole of the tuber money was the property of the Board of
Ordnance. I left my office between ball-past 1 and hell-
past 2 o'clock on the bth. The money was safe then. I
first heard of the robbery about half-past 6on the following
morning. 1 found the office door open, and the chest pre-
senting all the appearance of having been forced open by
gunpowder. The numbers of the stolen notes are from
96,364 to 96,379, and 74,311 and 74,311.
William Lane was next called, and proceeded to make
the following extraordinary statement-1 am a gun-smith
employed at Enfield-luck, and reside at Waltham Abbey.
I know the four prisoners. I remember being at
Rowe's public-house on the evening after the robbery,
about eight o'clock. Griffiths was there when I went in.
He called me out of the tap-room, and we went together
outside of the door into the yard. Ile said, " Bill, I sup-
pose you have beard of what was done last night
" What ?" 1 said. lie replied, "The robbery at the Pow-
der Mills." I said, " Yes." lie said, " Coruish and Eve
are the two that dune it." I said, "How do you know 1"
lie replied, "1 fetched the thole from Frank Harvey's
field, and gave them to Coinish." Frank Harvey's had is
just below the Compasses. Griffiths added, " I had to he
in it, but I was shoved nut of it." Wu returned into the
house. Rowe was there. Ile said to me, " What has Jess
been saying to you ?" I said, " Nothing." Ile then said,
" What have you been saying to Jess.' I replied, " No-
thing." Rowe then, making use of an oath, said, " I will
make you 111 right as myself if I get hold of the notes."
I said, " Hold your tongue—you can tell me another time.
Nothing else took place that night. Charles Colverd, Ed-
ward Speller, Charles Eve, and his brother, Joseph Eve,
were present at the time. 1 can't say that these persons
heard what Itie, sand to me. (iridium, I think, did. On
the Thursday evening 1 again went to Itowe's house about
7or If o'clock. W nen I went in, Coruish and Rowe were
in the tap-room by themselves. I was there about an hour ;
nothing took place aural; that time, bat as I lett the house
Howe miaowed me out end said, " Coruielt wants me to go
to London and see a hat 1 can get fur the notes." lle said,
.' 1 shall go up is the morning with King the horse-dealer."
Ile told me there were eighteen 2111. notes. On the follow-
ing day-, 1 was at the Cutup:isnot from half-past 4t05. I
SAW Rowe then. He said, " l have been to London, and 1
ran get Id/. for each of the 2111. notes, which will make
2701." Ile added, "1 have nut got the uotea yet, but I ex-
pect Cornish will come down with them to-night—he pro-
mised me he would." I stopped there till about eight
o'clock. 1 then went out and said to Howe, "Ilse he
been ?" Ile said, Yee, but he does not like to let me
have the note', for fear I should stick to the lot." He
witted that Cornish had said, " It would be a pretty thing
if he 'duck to the lot, and did us all out of them." Rowe
said that he had told Cornish that if he was afraid to let
him have the whole of tie notes, to let him have half, and
lie would get the mon •iy for them first. About ten o'clock
on the same eight Rowe came to my house, and asked me
to lend him my stiek. I asked him, " Have you got the
note,. ?" lle said," Yes." Ile added, " I have a great
mind to go tart° night. l shall get there before they get to
lied." On the SAlUrdly, about six o'clock in the evening,
Rowe cause to niy house, and beckoned me out. Ile says,
" Here's a pretty thing, I can only get rid of two of those
notes. out of the It." I asked, " Why.'• lie said, `. B. -
cause they had nut gut the banker's siguature ins them." I
did nut understand what he meant. lie said lie hail got
30/. fur the two notes he had changed, and that he should
stick to. lie told me lie mould return the other notes to
Cornish. I hate seen Rowe since the Saturday. On the
Tuesday following 1 was attacked by Joseph Eve in the
market places for accusing him of being in the robbery. I
asked I .` Who said so .1" Ile told rue John Cornish. I
said I had out; I never knew nothing about it,
and, of course, I could not say nothing. On
'Tuesday night I saw Rowe, and told him of
these circumstances. Ile said, " Never mind what lie
save; take no notice of it. If anybody asks you any-
thing about the rubbery, you know nothing about it." On
the Sunday alter the rubbery 1 went into Rowe's tap-room
Rowe was there, and souse other gentleman. (Laughter.)
1 said to Rowe, " Where is my shillelagh ?" lle called
me on one side, and said, " Why don't you mind what
you say—that is a detective police. '
Cross .examined by Mr. Wakeling—l first gave inform*.
Con of the robbery can Wednesday last ; that was alter the
reward had been offired.
John Lund examined. Ile said-1 am au inspector of the
detective police. In consequence of information received, I
went to the prisoner Rowe's house on Thursday last. 1 got
there clout half-past two o'clock in the afternoon. Ser-
geant ‘Vbicher, of tile detective force, accompanied me.
I anerteined from Mrs. Rowe that her husband was in the
back-yard. I went there, but not finding him, I went into
a stable. I saw a ladder hauling up in'o a loft. I went up
the ladder, and there saw the prisoner Rowe either lying
or kneeling down. I could just see hie head wit. n 1 gut up
the ladder. The hat was full of old meta and ruobish,
cud there were mine haylimai ieing stout. I usaial hint
if his none was Iliac. Ito replied " 1 told Lim I
wanted him, and he immediately value down. We then
cut, red the parlour of pone-tans., add I Olen told
him who I was, urea misled tout 1 mould be ouligea to talto
him into custody thi a caargs us ~'su emu-erica with
other* iu having tO.AUnd.dlto., INJ:diary at the Royal Olin-
powder Yorke. 1 too. matt:Mal Lou, And founts on his
person 271. in gold, our la/. and one M. Bank et englancl
note, one U. note of the Ease's tummy liana, and 7e. llhl. is
silver moneys, a cheque ler 4/. 75., mi.. inimonuida.
Rowe said he ued had tla IJ.. Bailie of Eugland note above
twelve months.
Howe-1 beg your pardon, sir, I said the 5/. note.
Inspector Lund—l am sure the prinniet said the 10/. note.
I then asked him if he had any more cash, and wished
him
to show me to his bedroom. Ile did so, and 'minting to
drawer, said "Theta all the cash 1 have." There was wan
silver and some copper monies there to a shall amount,
with which I aid not interfere. We came down stairs again,
and I then said to Ituwe, . nova you any money in the dolt
where 1 found you ?" Rowe said, "It is not likely." I
then told hint I should search every part of his place. Ile
said, " You had better do so." I then went with Sergeant
Windier to the loft, where a tin canister was found by the
latter officer, containing 1001. in gold. The canister was
handed to me, and I brought it down stairs, and counted
its contents before the primmer. I told Rowe I had found
it in the loft, and he told me he had placed it in the loft fur
safety, his house having been attempted to be broken into a
short time before. On the same day I took the prisoner
Eve intocustody while at work at the powder mills. 1
watched his house about an hour afterwards, and found 101.
in gold, of which 71. was in half-sovereigns. 71. 10s. was in
one box in a back room, and 21. 10s. in a purse in another
bus in the front room. 1 took Cornish into custody
on the same day at the powder mills. Previously to
apprehending him, 1 asked bon hail he seen Griffiths on the
night of the rubbery ? lie said," Yes." I asked him what
Griffiths had given him ? lie said, he gave me a chisel
wrapped up in a handkerchief. I asked him what he had
done with it ? Ile replied that he had thrown it into the
river, don by the Baker's Eutrance, near the station. He
mid that Griffith,' had given it to him to take care of, and
directly he heard of the robbery he threw it into the river.
He added that he was standing at the prisoner Rowe's door,
talking to a girl, when the chisel was giver, to hiw. I
searehed Curnieh'e house immediately after his apprehen-
I sion. I found there two sovereigns and three half-sove-
reigns, and 1:s. in silver. I took this money five% the
prisoner's wife.
Sergeant Wbirher corroborated Inspector Lund's tee-
timony, and said he found the tin canister containing
the sovereigns in the loft, in a basket full of old iron
cold other rubbish with which it was covered. The sove-
reigns had been put into a handkerchief and the hand-
kerchief into the canistee. The prisoner Rowe told witness,
before he counted them, that the canister contained 100

sovereigns.
After some other unimportant evidence, Mr. Prentice
asked the bench to grant a remand.
Mr. Parnell and the other legal gentlemen strove hard to
get their respective clients admitted to bail, but the limelt
unanimously refused the application, and decided on re-
manding the prisoners until Tuesday next, by which time,
it is believed, other parties will be in custody.

TARING TICKETS UN RAILWAYS.—Sir,—WiII TOR
allow me, through the medium of your widely circulating
journal, to make public the great improvement and saving I
of tune adopted last Monday morning clothe Eastern Coun-
ties Railway ? I allude to the taking the ticlicts,s hich was
dune by the guard while the train was in motion, with
apparently the greatest ease to himself. In carrying this
out I would suggest an addition to the carriages, to render
them perfectly secure whilst performing this duty—via.,
that a brass or iron rod should be attached to each ear-
riage for him to hold on in passing from one to the other.
Hoping you will insert these few words, as the above gave
such general satisfaction to all the parties concerned, yours,
&c., ANTHONY OIICSON, jlll.—Lloyd's, April 22.
Tuz BRITANNIA BRIDGE.—The final sale of the
machinery and material employed in this great structure
was held last week. Cpwards cat 1,2 id lots, at unemset,llly
prices, were di,,,oseil of in five days. It may not be
generally known that the huge hydraulic machine and
cylinder, that lifted the entire bridge, and of sufficient
power almost to lift the Crystal Palace itself and its con-
tents, will form a leading feature in the great olla podrido
at Hyde Park.