The Northern Daily Times.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1856-09-11 00:00:00

.:-LIVERPOOL; THURSDAY.

POLICE COURT.-YESTERDAY,

(REPORE MR. R. H. HARVEY

PLUNDER BY A SERVANT.—Detectives Patrick and
Horne brought up two persons, named Jane and Agnes
Shannon, on the following charge :—lt appeared that
Jane was a servant at Mr. Atcherley's, 148, Mill-street,
draper, and that he missed goods several times ; and
suspecting the prisoner was the thief, he told the police,
and on searching the lodgings of the other prisoner (who
is mother of Jane) a quantity of the missing property
was found, and Identified by the owner. The prisoners
were remanded for further search.

SUSPICIOUS CHARACTIM.—A number of persons,
described by the police as suspicious characters, were
brought before the bench, and amongst these was a
person named Henry Connolly, *ho. Was charged with
being concealed in a carriage in the Lime-Street station.
The case was fully proved by Mr. John Pugh, who got the
prisoner as described, at four o'clock in the morning.
The prisoner was committed for a month.
ROBBERY ON SIIIPBOARD.—GiIbert Patterson, a ship-
keeper in the employment of Messrs. Stewart and
Douglas, Bernard Shervin, and Peter Smith, Sperling-
street, marine-store dealers, were charged with having
stolen and received 4 cwts. of ropes from the ship Fanny,
belonging to the firm named. Police-officer 29, said he
saw the prisoners removing the property from the ship,
and arrested them. It appeared from a statement of
Mr. Clough, that the firm mentioned had so much
confidence is Patterson, that when one of their vessels
came in, he was sent for to Scotland to mind the vessel
and cargo. The prisoners were committed for trial.
(BEFORE MR. MANSFIELD.)
JEALOUSY !—A rather respectable-looking female,
named Mary Gobie, who resides in Llanrwt-street, was
charged with having assaulted another tidy.looking
female, nanied Rachael Whitehead, a resident of the
same street. The parties are the wives of respectable
mechanics. The complainant said she was informed
that the prisoner and some of her ‘. allies" had attacked
her house and were wrecking it. She called an officer,
and went to the scene of action, and there saw the pri-
soner acting as general of the force, and in order to show
them a good example, she was breaking in the windows.
On witness coming up the prisoner turned on her, struck
her a blow in the face and knocked her down. The
officer saw the assault, and arrested the prisoner. In
reply to the charge, the prisoner said the complainant
had destroyed her. Mr. Mansfield : How so ? Prisoner :
She has taken away my husband. Sie has induced him
to spend all his time and money with her. I did not
believe it at first until I found them dinking, and worse
together. The complainant denied the statement. Mr
Mansfield (to the prisoner) : The woman has a husband
of her own, and does not require yours. Prisoner : Oh,
but she does--for she loves him. Mr. Mansfield : I fine
you Xl, and costs; for the assault, or one month's impri-
sonment.

THE KNIFE BY A WOMAN.—EIIen Ambrose, an Unfor-
tunate girl of the town, was placed in the dock, charged
with siabbing another female, of bad character, named
Mary Long. It appeared that police officer 700, abou t
eleven o'clock on Tuesday night, heard cries of murder
proceeding from the top of l3anastre-street, and that, on
hastening to the place, he found the complainant bleed-
ing profusely from wounds in the arm and chest. The
prisoner, who was attempting to escape, was pointed oat
to him as the person who had inflicted the wounds, and
he accordingly at once arrested her. He could not find
the knife, but that she had used it, and was in the habit
of always carrying one about with her, was proved by
the complainant and another young woman who
witnessed the attack. The complainant was taken to the
Southern Dispensary, where her wounds were dressed,
and Mr. Glover (the surgeon) stated that, had the wound
in the chest been an inch deeper, it would have
penetrated the cavity, and have caused death. Mr.
Parkinson, in to answer to Mr. Mansfield, stated that she
has before been up for fighting, She was committed
for trial at the assites.

THE MOCIC AUCTIONEERS AGAIN

FURTHER CHARGE AGAINST THElC—Michael Nicholson,
Robert Maxwell, Hugh Kirby, and Ellen Duff, who stood
remanded on a charge of conspiracy, and for swindling Mrs.
Jones, of Monmouth, were brought up yesterday, before Mr.
Alderman Holme, at one of the police courts. The court was
crowded, and all the mock auction-men and their satellites, in
• town, were present. Mr. Snowball defended the prisoners.
Christina Maxwell, a young married scotch woman, said to be
the wife of a captain of a ship, was examined, and said—On
this day fortnight I was induced to enter the auction shop of
the prisoners, all of whom I saw there. There was another
person, not now present, and he came with a pair of trousers,
saying he was a clerk out of place, and was in great distress,
i (here a young woman who accompanied the witness said, there
he is, I see him in court. The person alluded to rushed out
without waiting to hear anything more) and that he wanted to
dispose of them The prisoner Nicholson said it was a
bad place to bring such an article, as it was ladies who gene-
rally attended to his " respectable establishment." The
female prisoner advised her to buy the trousers, saying, any
ono would give for them. The prisoner Duff said there
were great bargains going, and in proof of this she purchased a
lot of silk handkerchiefs and cloth. She induced the witness
to bid for the trousers. The prisoner Maxwell bid against her,
and the prisoner Kirby handed the article about, and advised her
to bid also ; she did, and the article was knocked down to her
at 30s. She left a deposit of 7s Gd on it. She went to the
shop three times after, and saw the same parties
there. The woman told her she got a dead bar •
gain of the trousers, as they wore worth £2
of any man's or woman's money. Mr. Snowball: You
don't wear trousers ? No, but my husband does. Where
is he ? He is not at home at present. Mr. Snowball :
Then he does not allow you to wear the articles ? (Laugh-
ter.) No, but I wanted to keep them until he came home.
—Mary Ann Rosa, a tidy, smart young woman, a friend of
the last witness, was examined, and her evidence was to the
same effect; and, she added, that the prisoner Maxwell
seemed to buy a shawl, which he now held on his arm.
She was induced to purchase a purse, at the solicitation of
the fmale prisoner, who said it was worth eighteenpence ;
went with the last witness three times to get the 7s. 6d,
but they were treated most abusively by the prisoners. The
last witness sent a captain to look at the trousers, and he pro-
nounced them "no good.;' Mr. Snowball: Well Miss Ross,
you don't wear the garments ? Miss Ross smiled. Mr. Snow-
ball :We will not quarrel, I hope ? Miss Ross : Oh, no
one could quarrel with you, sir. (Loud laughter ) Mr.
Clough asked if there was any necessity to examine Mrs.
Joues again ? and his Worship said there was no necessity,
as he had a note of her evidence, and also a perfect recol-
lection of it. Mr. William Wilcox said he was a jeweller,
and had examined the chain now produced ; it was gold,
but of a very inferior quality; it was value for £3 10s.
Mr. Crampton, who was examined on Saturday, proved that
the watch was worth only £3 18s, lie was cross-examined
by Mr. Snowball, in reference to an act of parliament recently
passed, that allowed more alloy than usual with gold, and the
witness said he knew of it, but it had reference to English
made watches, and the watch now produced was not an
English watch. Mr. Snowball then proceeded to address his
Worship on behalf of the prisoners, and said the real pith of
the case was in reference to puffers who were employed in the
case. Chancery had decided that puffers were legal, but a
court of law had decided that it was not legal to employ
puffers, and that it was a fraud to do so. There was not an
auctioneer about the Exchange who did not employ puffers,
and if his Worship committed the prisoners for trial, there
would not be a broker in Liverpool who would not be subject
to committal also. Ho did not think there was anything
illegal in puffing, and when it was called fraud, he thought
that judge made law ; and although Lord Mansfield was a
very clever man, he thought he was wrong when he so
decided. A court of equity had differed to some extent with
Lord Mansfield, and partly upset his decision. He cited some
cases, and said if auctioneers were to be brought up for
telling lies about their goods, they would have Lucas, Win-
stanley, and all the other respectable auctioneers in town
brought up on that score, (A laugh). The lady bid for the
watch and-- Mrs. Jones : I beg your pardon, I did not hid.
Mr. Snowball went on to address the court, and charged Mrs.
Jones with having sworn what was untrue, when she swore
she did not bid for the watch and chain. He contended that
no jury could convict tbo prisoners, and he, therefore, called
on the magistrate not to send the prisoners for trial. In reply
to his Worship, Mr. Clough said he would ask for an additional
remand, for the purpose of procuring evidence, that it would
not be prudent for him at present to state. Mr. Alderman
Holme said the case was an important one, and he would see
that the public should be protected from this most infamous
system of swindling—for most unprincipled swindling it was
beyond doubt. There was, therefore, quite sufficient evidence
at present to warrant him in remanding the prisoners again.
Mr. Clough would ask a remand, and he must say at the same
time that he did not think the observations made by Mr. Snow-
ball, in reference to Mrs.jones, were warranted. Mr. Snowball :
Mr. Clough mind your own business, and I will mind mine. I
say she told a lie when she swore she did not bid. Mr. Ald.
Holme : I am fain to say that I do not think that observation
warranted, as the lady gave her evidence most fairly. Mr.
Snowball : I say she gave it most foully, when she said she
did not bid. Mr. Alderman Holme :I do not think this at
all warranted, but we shall not handy words about it now. The
lady's evidence is clear and fair, and we have it hero written
down• I shall remand the prisoners to eleven o'clock on
Friday morning, when Mr. Clough can have his additional
evidence ready. The prisoners were then remanded.

The mission at Naples, vacant by Sir William Temple's
death, will,
we hear, be reserved for Sir Henry Bulwer,
after he shall have returned from his present temporary
employment in the Principalities.
CONSOLIDATION OF THE CRIMINAL LAW.—The eight bills
of the -Lord Chancellor, laid on the table of the House of
Lords at the close of the late session, to consolidate certain
criminal offences, have recently been printed. They relate
to offences against property, against the person, against
forgery, and also to accessories. In the last-mentioned bill
there is:a clause to the effect that abettors in misdemeanors
shall be indicted and punished as principals.