The Express.
London, England, 1861-09-24 00:00:00

CENTRAL CRIMINAL COURT.

Willhunt Balmanno, 2R, a requitable-looking young man,
was charged with stealing 131., the property of his em-
ployers, Messrs. Turner and Preston, solicitors.
Mr. Dickie conducted the prosecution ; the prisoner was
defended by Mr. Sleigh.
It appeared that the prisoner was engaged as clerk to the
prosecutors. who WIWI attorneys in Water.laoe, Thames-
street, and it was his duty to procure stamps for different
legal documents, and also to pay for writs, &c. A sum of
money was give, to the primmer for these purposes, but, in-
stead of applying the money to its legitimate object.hirspent
err otherwise misappropriated it, and then absconded. He
subsequently, it appeared, isodeavoured to make out that he
had lost the money, and promised tomato it good, and wrote
a letter to the prosecutor, Mr. Turner, in which he earnestly
'striated him to look over what had happened, for the sake
et his wife and family.
Mr. Sleigh made a very ingenious defines for the prisoner,
and endeavoured to show that it was probable that be
had really lost the money, and that the presecutors had also
treated the transaction as a debt.
The jury retired to deliberate upon their verdict, and in
about half an hour they returned into court, and found the
prisoner 0,1111.
Mr. Turner stated, in answer to a question that was put
by the learned Recorder, that the prisoner did not have a
very good character at the time he came into his service,
and he told him that he would give him a chance of retrieving
himself. He also said that the salary he gave the prisoner
was 1301. a year ; and he had discovered since the prisoner
bad been in custody that he had embezzled other sums,
amounting to about 171.
The prisoner entreated the court to deal mercifully with
him, and to bear in mind that he had been already five
weeks in prison.
The Recorder told the prisoner that the last-mentioned
circumstance would have very little effect upon the dee.
aloe of the court, having reference to the very serious clue,
meter of the offence of which be had been convicted. It ap.
Mamthat the prosecutor had very kindly taken him into
service, knowing that his character was not quite
above suspicion, and had thus given him an opportunity of
retaining his position ; but it appeared by the dates that,
within a very few days of his going into the prosecutor's
service, he had stolen this money ; and it also appeared that
he had misappropriated other sums that had been entrusted
to him. The offence was, therefore, in his (the learned
judge's) opinion, a very serious one, and he felt it his duty
to sentence him to three yams' penal servitude.
Mr. Sleigh made an Implication to the court to postpone
the trial of Karma Calmed, who is charged with obtaining
2,0001. from a lady named Johnstone by false pretences, to
the October session.
Mr. Sleigh said that he appeared, with his learned friend,
Mr. Oiffard, on behalf of the prisoner, and he applied to
postpone the trial of the came, upon an affidavit that was
made by his attorney, Mr. Collett, which was to the effect
that he could not properly conduct his defence, or safely
proceed to trial, unless copies of certain letters, now in the
possession of Sergeant Tanner, who bad the use in hand,
which were written by. the proeecutrix, and found in the
possession of the prisoner when he was taken into
custody, were furnished to them. Since the committal
of the prisoner repeated applications had been made
for copies of the letters in question, which were sixty-
three io number, and written in the Italian language,
but they had all een refused, and as he and hie learned
friend were of opinion that it was absolutely impossible for
them to properly conduct the defence without knowing the
contents of these letters, his application was that the court
should make an order that copies of the letters in question
should be furnished to the prisoner's solicitor, and that the
trial should be postpooed to the next session, in order to
afford an opportunity to consider what bearing they had
upon the one.
Serjeant Parry, who is instructed, with Mr. Montagu
Chambers, Q.C. and Mr. F. H. Lewis, to conduct the
tion, said he should be desirous to consult with
rinerned leader upon the subject, but at pre.
sent he was instructed to oppose the application.
The offence with which the prisoner was charged
was, substantially, that he bad extorted money from the
moseeutrix by pretending to give up those letters which
had been written to him by her, when all he handed over to
her was a sham parcel ; and, according to his instructions,
the letters, or rather their contents, were in no way rele-
vant to the inquiry. The prosecutrix bad no objection to
translations of the letters being Shawn to his learned friend,
upon the understanding that they should not be shown to
any other person. There was no desire to throw any diffi-
culty in the way of tbe prisoner, but it was desired that
publicity should not he given to matters that had nothing
whatever to do with the reel question at issue.
The Recorder said he should certainly decline to
make any order at present, and the application might be
renewed when &trent Parry bad bad an opportunity of
answering the affidavit, end consulting with Mr. Montagu
Chambers as to the course that should be taken with regard
to it.

The grand jury have returned two true bills against this
prixoner, one charging him with misdemeanour in obtaining
money by false pretences, and the other with stealing nine•
teen tank notes, of the value of 1,90 W, the property of
Frederica Johnstone.

The bill egainst Charles Willi►m Jeffs, which charged
him with feloniously wounding with intent to murder, was
ignored by the grand jury.