The Northern Daily Times.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1857-02-19 00:00:00

LIVERPOOL

BEFORE MR. MANSFIELD,

PLI/1610. ON SHIPBOARD.---iames lianean chief mate,.
and John Jones, the third mate of the ship Fortune,
Captain Carty, now in the river, bound for Aus'ralia,
were brought up by detective officers Scott and Smith,
charged with having broken into the store room of the
vessel, and stealing theraout brandy, gin, wine, &c , to the
value of about £lO. From the evidence of the steward
it appeared that the prisoners ordered him, in the absence
of the captain, to bring them brandy, which he did ; and
after that they broke into the store, and took the liquors
to the amount named, The first mite said he denied the
n'ltitge altogether; and the third mate alleged that he
broke int 9 the room, and took me minor to tne cabin, bq ,
Order of the first mate. Some of the brandy was taken
on shore. Mr. Frodsham, the owner of the ship said the
former captain of the ship had appointed the first mate,
and a letter was brought by the third mate from Mr.
Macay, strongly recommending him. He believed the
mate conducted himself properly in dock, but when
he entered the river; lie acted improperly. The cap-
tain said he heard of the men being drunk; by re-
ceipt of a note from his owners, and on going on
.board,
he found the store broken ovn. Mr. Mansfield said the
prisoners were a disgrace to the profession: He or.lered
them to be imprisonered for 12 weeks, with hard labour,
and their certificates to be wi,hdraWn and sent to the
Sailor's Home.

A FAMILY kliku.—inlari Segar was charged with having
stolen a key, and with having assaulted Thomas Crosby,
his step father. Mr. R files appeared for the prosecu
tion, and Mr. Campbell for the defence. Mr. Raffles
said he would not press the charge of felony, but would
proceed on the charge of assault. Mr. Campbell
objected to this course, as there was a charge of felony
it ought to be disposed of. Mr. Mansfield said : Thera
are two charges on my book azainst the prisoner, one is
for stealing a key, and the other for an assault on
Thomas Crosby, and if the charge of felony be withdrawn,
I have only to deal with the assault. Mr. Campbell :
Very well, sir, I am satisfied. Ir. appeared that the
complainant keeps a stall in the fish market, and that
his wife (who was the prisoner's mother) died a short
time since. There was a dispute between the parties
in reference to some property and money matters,
and this led to various assaults. On Tuesday
night the parties had a difference in the market, when
the prisoner knocked the complainant down. He was
then taken to Hotham street Bridewell, where he knooked
him down again and blackened his eyes. Two or three
witnesses were produced, who corroborated the above.
Mr. Campbell for the prisoner produced two witnesses who
swore that tbecomplainant was very drunk at the time, and
that be abused and aggravated the prisoner very much,
and told him his (the prisoner's) mother was burning
in the flames of he'l. Mr. Mansfield said, when one man
tells another that his mother is burning in the fiahies of
hell, the least he may expect is to be knocked down and
well thrashed for his pains. Ile discharged the prisoner.
CURIOUS CASE.--Frances Smith, a well dressed
elderly female, with a wild appearance, was charged
under the following circumstances : A gentleman, named'
Edward 1111, said he saw the prisoner in Bold street
trying to pick the pockets of some ladies. There was a
friend with him, and they watched her into Church
street, where she repeated the same, and then they gave
her into custody. Mr. Bluck, for the prisoner, asked the
witness what he was, and he replied a broker. Why did
you watch this woman so ? Because I saw her do the
same thing several times through to,vn before, and on
the landing stage. Did she put her hands into any
lady's pocket ? She attempted to do it. Mr W. E.
Marshall, who was in company with Mr. Bill, gave
similar evidence. Mr. Black made a very forcible
speech for the prisoner, and alleged that she was insane.

He contended also that she might have put her bands
on ladies' dresses, in a crowded thoroughfare, without
intending to commit a felony. He pointed to two well
dressed girls, about 12 years of age, who he said were her
children; and who endeavoured to keep her.at home, but
they could not do so, and she was not an accountable
being. Mr. Clough said, the prisoner waii'well known
to the police. Mr. Biuck did not want to hear that.
mr. Mansfield did not think the evidence (although he
believed it) strong enough to send the prisoner for trial,
and he therefore discharged her. _ _

AN UNGRATEFUL SERVANT.—Philosophers have been
engaged for some thousands of years, looking after some-
thing called a " stone," but up to the present time, the
search has been an utter failure. The people of Liverpool
have for a long time, been engaged in a pursuit equally
ditlicelt, and with even less chance of success—namely,
.trying to find an honest and sober servant girl Dr.
Thomson, of Salisbury Street, out of pure charity, and
with a degree of benevolence, that reflects credit on him,
took into his house a widow, nained Mary Winfield. He
gave her good wages, got annher benevo'ent gentleman
to pay for the support of her children, and treated her
with every kindness. One would think that this woman
should,feel and prove grateful to Dr. Thomson. But how
did she act ? She got drunk when she got money from
her master and mistress, and not eonten t with that, she
stole blankets, sheets, and a variety of other articles from
the house and pledged them, and so serious were her
depredations, that the full extent of her plunder could
not,.at present be ascertained. Detective officer T.aycock
said the prisoner to'd him, when being taken. to the
station, that she pledged the property. Mr. Mansfield
said, he had seldom heard of a grosser case of ingratitude
and outrage. He committed the prisoner for three
months with hard labour.
AN ENTIRE NEW DODGE.—Jine . Riley, who keeps a
broker's shop in Marybene, charged two young fellows
and a girl, for haring conspired to defraud her, under
the following new dodge. From the statement made
by Mr. Clough, and the evidence given to support
it, the case appeared to be this. A day or two since the
prisoners went on a " spree," and having spent all the
cash they could muster, they resolved, by the assistant
magic of a broker's shop, to turn their coats—or rather
coin them, into current money of the realm. This they
effected by the means of a young Woman, who, by their
directions, took the coats of the male end the shawl of
the female prisoner to Mrs.' Riley's, and there "swapped"
them for certain pieces of coin (in a foreign language)
cal'ed florins These florins having gone the way of many
other florins—namele-, into a publican's till - the boys
and girl were just as badly off as ever. All the "duds"
that the prisoners could spare went to 'Ars. Riley's, who
in return gave silver for the " lot," The parties having
nothing left to coin but their brains, proceeded to put
these into circulation, and the result of a conference, or
as diplomatists would say, a "secret traaty," was this.
They went in a body (three peop'e make a body) to Mrs.
Riley, and asked her if she had purchased such and such
articles? She frankly replied that she had. "You're
a nice lady," says one of the fellows, "to purchase
stolen property." The end of this conference
was, that the prisoners called a policeman and actually
give Mrs. Riley into custody en' a charge of having
received stolen goods, with a guilty knowledge. Ehe
was conveyed to the station, but some time after the
woman who sold her the things heard that she was
locked up, and she went to Mr. Clough and told him the
whole story. In the interval, the prisoners offered to
forgive Mrs. Riley if she consented to give up the clothes,
but being innocent she refused to do so. Mr. Clough,
with that sagacity and prudence which has ever charac-
terised his long, useful, and faithful services, saw
bow the whole " plant" stood, and had the prisoners
.rrested. The case was fully proved, and the prisoners
were sent for trial for this "bran new dodge."
VILE—VERY VILE.—A young girl named Mary Pit.
chard, charged a woman named Elizabeth Ba'tey, for
having sto!en her trunk and a considerable quantity of
wearing apparel. It appeared that both persons were
Scotch, and were servants out of place.. They lodge] in
the same place in Frederick street. A day or two ago
the complaioint got a situation, and went to it, leaving
her trunk' containing her property in care of the other,
saying she would come for it in a day or two. She did
come, but the prisoner was-gone and her trunk and its
contents also.. Detective officer M'Culloch got the
prisoner going on board a Glasgow boat, and found the
trunk with her; he also found some of the complainant's
dresses pledged. The prisoner was - sentenced to three
months hard labour, and the paitnbrokers were ordered
to give hack the dresses, without any payment, to the
poor g;rl who lost the'm.
ROBBRRY FR A SIIIP.—Four foreigners (sailors) were
brought' up on a charge of having stolen a quantity of
soap from the ship " Peeping Tom," boend for Sierra
Leone, The prisoners were sailors on board the ship,
and the master, Captain Collings, said the cargo was
worth £50,000; and he could not 'tell the extent of the
plunder. One of the men was stopped by officer Barrow,
eNo. 7, leaving the dock with the soap. The evidence
against the others was not sutlicient, and they w ere
discharged. The man with whom the soap was found
was sent to gaol for three months, with hard labour.

DECREASE OF PAUPERISM IN ENGLAND AND WALES.--.
It appears from a parliamentary return, that the total
number of persons of all classes (including children) in
receipt of relief on the first of Jrnuary last in 623 unions
and parishes England and Wales, was 843,430, being a
decrease of 33,225 on the numbe s of the date of Jan. 1,
1856. 139,130 adult able-bodied persons, male and
female, exclusive of vagrants, were in receipt of relief on
the Ist of last month, being a decrease of 13,044 on the
numbers at the corresponding date in 1856. 50,362 of the
persons relieved laa mohth were widows•