The Express.
London, England, 1847-05-13 00:00:00

COURT OF EXCHEQUER.

Win Pall:S.—Beton Sir F. Pollock, C.S., and • Special Jury.
THE ATTORNEY-GENERAL V. AVERY.—FRAUD ON ENE
CEETONB. wan an information tiled at the instance
of the customs department against the defendant, a sugar
broker, in Mincing.lane, to recover penalties for having been
concerned in one of the twelve transactions in which Howes,
the defendant in the case published in this journal yesterday,
was a principal actor. It appeared that on the 24th of July
last the present defendant bought, at a public auction, four
parcels of sugar, weighing altogether 35 cwt., at the rate of
275. 6d. per cwt., duty off. On the 211th of Sept. be got a war-
rant for the sugar and paid the price of it, and upon that day
he sold it to one Freeman at 375. 6d. a cwt., duty paid ;
Freeman obtained the warrant, and gave it to the Messrs.
Pickford, carriers, who sent to the St. Katherine's docks and
got the sugar from Howes, who then held the important
ales of locker there. It was soon afterwards discovered
that the duty on those parcels of sugar had not
been paid,and Mr. Freeman was applied to upon the subject.
He denied all knowledge of any fraud, and stated the fact of
his having bonl fide purchased the sugar from the defendant,
who represented the duty to have been paid. For the prose-
cution, it was relied on is a strong fact, that though the duty
payable upon the sugar was 14s. a cwt., and it had been pur-
chased for 275. 6d. a cwt., the defendant should have sold it
fee the price obtained from Freeman. If the duty had been
paid, a loss of 4s. a cwt. must have been sustained by the
defendant, which, it was submitted, was not very probable.
On the other side, it was contended that the defendant had
bought the sugar for Mr. Fennell, a who!esale grocer and
sugar dealer in Tooley-street, and that 110 had sold it to Free-
man for Fennell. This defence was not sustained to the
satisfaction of the jury, who, without a moment's delibera-
tion, returned a verdict of guilty, and found that the penal-
ties to which the defendant is liable amount to 1961. 16s.

CENTRAL CRIMINAL COURT.

Kerp, 24, and Alfred Wilbeans
alias Brown, 33, were indicted for feloniously forging and
uttering a bill of exchange for 6001. with intent to defraud
Meson. Fuller and Co., bankers ; and Joeepa Alexander, 60,
a Polish Jew, was charged as an accessory after the fact by
harbouring and assisting the other prisoners knowing them to
have committed the felony. A gentleman named Ohrly kept
an account at the bank of Menem Fuller, in Lothbury, and
on the 29th of last December, a bill of exchange for 6001.,
purporting to bear the acceptance of this gentleman, was pre-
sented by Wilbeam for payment, and the amount was paid
in four notes of 1001. each, and two of 501. Almost imme-
diately afterwards Keep went to the Bank of Eng-
land and required gold for the four hundred pound
notes. This exciting some suspicion' inquiry was
made whence the notes had been obtained, and on the
prisoner stating, the clerk proceeded to Messrs. Fuller, and
made inquiries, and on his being_ informed that it was all
right, the notes were changed. The fifty pound notes were
sinned for gold on the same day. On the morning on
which the forged bill was presented, Wilbeam, who was in
a mostragged pl.ght, went with Here to the shop of a Jew
clothes salesman in Westminster, and porch/used a complete
suit of new clothes with which he was at once equipped. It
was presented that Wilbeam proceeded immediately to the
bankers', and that the clothes had been purchased to enable
him to present a respectable appearance. With regard to
Alexander, it was shown that oa the 6th of February, one of
the City police constables being on duty in Bartholomew-
lane, observed the three prisoners standing together, sad
after a short time, Alexander beckoned him, and gave the
other two men into his custody for forgery upon Messrs.
Fuller, Messrs. Smith, Payne, and Smith, and also open the
Bisnk of England. They all proceedeettowards the police-station
in Coleman-street, but Wilbeam contrived to get away. The
officer on duty detained Kerp, and the constable, at the re-
quest of Alexander, took him to Messrs. Fuller's, where he
was given into custody. Wilbeam was not apprehended until
the 31st of March, and be then told the officer that he had
received the order upon Messrs. Fuller from Alexander, and
that he gave him the four 1001. notes and the two 501. notes,
and that he received 261. for his trouble. The officer stated
that before the prisoner made this statement he gave him
• caution net to say anything that might criminate himself.—
Baron Alderson told the officer that be had no business to
stop a prisoner from opening his mouth if he chose to do se
voluntarily. An officer had no right to force • man =speak,
, but if he did so of his own accord it was no part of his duty I
to prevent him—After these facts had been elicited, Baron
Alderson said he did not see that there was any evidence to
go to the jury against Alexander.—Mr. Clarkston (for the
prosecution) said be could show that some of the signatures
upon the noses were in Alexander's handwriting.—Mr.
K. C. Oates, an attorney. was then called, and he
gated that, according is Ms belief, the signature upon
sae of the notes was this handwritlig if Alexander.
XiMeinder, with great velemeeno, ineiMeilimes hie right to
eta antamine the witmee.—Moron Alamos hid the prisoner
he tam* he had mak bedew leave lde OM in the hands of
hie ennui, tut the prime possesisivkk great violence of
mature to make a variety of ommoliam wined the witness ;
end it was not until after the hmenedrial.lhod repeatedly
aid him that his observations ware Irrelevant, and
that he was wasting the tines of the mem, he deeisted.—
After some farther @videos*, as sameel for the other pri-
soners addressed the jury. —Mr. Dorm Alderson summed up,
and the jury returned a verdict of Owilty against Kerp and
Wilicatn, and acquitted Alexander.
A HALI,CROWN. The pramer Alexander was then
charged upon another indictment with stealing a half-crown,
the property of Samuel Alexander. —The prosecutor in thin
ewe, although of the as.. name, was not at all re-
lated to the prisoner, but they having been on intimate'
terms be was in the habit of visiting him, and in con-
sequence of money having been mired on several occasions,
a half-crown was marked en the 16th of March, anti
placed on the chimney pine. The prisoner came to the
house soon afterwards, sod when he had left, the coin was
missed, and on his beim gmened and taken into custody,
, the marked half-crown pas hand in his pocket, he having
previously declared to the sminble that he had no silver
money in his pommies. The sovereigns and twenty-two
sultans* were found in hie pocket betides the marked coin.
grimace, who madanal his own defence, made a
lam rembluss Motemst to the jury, declaring that the
(Amp me the remit of a ameglerep.—Mr. Robinson, who
aced am et the wham= whether he hid not
that the Wafter hid eniftroadeix months' imprison-
ment kr ihned.—Tbe prisener mid he objected to thl. guts-
:el:B%le 1.)—Brea Alderson told hint that as he had
mila it ragman ids character, the counsel for the
preemsties bad a right to ascertain what his character
really wee.—The Minus then admitted that he had heard
of the het aft pitener's t for fraud, and also
soggeebing a • sheep et .—Tbe jury returned a
mak* of Gaillre—llemet Aidemen mid he should consider
what seatems might to be preessneld.

POLICE.—YEsTERDAy.

MARLBOROUGH-STREiTTLiranWo ROBBERY.—
Wm. COX and Eliza Smith were charged with robbery.
Sarah Ann Tanner said she was refining home to Bromp-