The British Press; or, Morning Literary Advertiser.
London, England, 1803-04-16 00:00:00

WEST.4II,VSTEIi SESSIO7,-..

GUILDHALL, KING•STREET, Atom 15.
nu- oar. WILLIAM MAINWAnuG, rsq.
Alevaiider Lovell was indiaed for privately steel-
itt, from the person of one Ad.tm Huntley, a pocket-
handkerchief. The prosecutor could oily swear to
the loss of his handkerchief, in Covent-garden, on
the 17th of May last; he did not see the priemer
take it, but a witness, of the name of Thomas
Paine, distinetly swore that he saw him take it out
of the prosecutor's pocket. He immediately in-
formed Mr. I luntley of the circumstance, and Mr.
I luntley proceeded in pursuit of him and took him.
Upon his apprehension he drew a knife, threatening
to assail his pursuers, if they did not let him escape,
but he did not venture to use it ; the fads of the
case were too plain to admit of the least degree of
doubt, and the Jury, without hesitation, found hint
Guilty.
The Court, in consequence of his being an old
offender, sentenced him to transportation for seven
yeers.
Immediately after the Chairman had pronounced '
sentence, the prisoner most aielaciously pulled
something from his pocket, which afipeared to be a
tobacco-stopper, and threw it at the Jury, and at
the same time made a blow at ;he head of the keeper
of Tothil-fields Bridewell, and insolently ad.!: essing
the Court and the Jury, said they might all he damn-
ed together, since they had (lone their worst.
He was ordered to a place of iecurity, where lie
will have ample time for relleitiOn.
Thomas Won was indicted for obtaining, by false
pretences,a legof mutton from James Gray, a but-
cher. It appeared tee: the prisoner went in the
name of Mrs. Ann Ellis, the matron of the work-
house of the united pelishes of Stint Giles and St.
George, Bloomsbury, and sey: ee; that she had sent
him, the prosecutor delive.em! e to him without the
smallest suspicion. It however turned out that
Mrs. Ellis never had given iiim any direetions to
obtain the article from the praseeutor, and conse-
quently that he could only have been aduated by a
fraudulent principle, and an intention to convert the
leg of mutton, he had so surreptitiously obtained,
to the inordinate gratification of his own appetite.
It was stated by Mrs. Ellis, that the prisoner had
first come into the workhouse in a state of ill health,
but that he soon recovered, and endeavoured to
make himself useful in every way he possibly could.
Till this affair he had borne an extreme good charac-
ter. He was a very clever man, and had acquitted
himself, while in the workhouse, much to her satis-
faCtion ; he had not left the workhouse above a
week before this unfortunate transitaion took place.
It was with regret she was obliged to appear against
him; for a man more unlikely to commit such an
action she hardly ever knew.
The prisoner, who was really a young man of
particularly decent appearance, was called upon for
his defence. He at once admitted it, hut he said
that the prosecutor had delivered him a bill for the
leg of mutton, in which he had charged at the rate of
two-pence a pound more, than by his contra& with
the parish he was entitled to. This bill the prose-
cutor had contrived to get destroyed, fearful lest it
should be proved as a-faet not creditable to him.
With regard to the offence for which he was under
prosecution, he was compelled to acknowledge it ;
at the same time lie had committed it under circum-
stances of derangement ; which not only applied to
the state of his finances, but of his mind ; for he was
at the time, not only extremely poor, but in a state
of intoxication. This, however, he knew was no
excuse; he said, he had honourably served his Ma-
jesty in the capacity of captain's clerk, on board a
man of war, during the greater part of the last war.
He had been in several aections, particularly in that
of the memorable Ist of June, in which he had per-
sonally exerted his courage, and had had the misfor-
tune to see his brave captain fall in that noble con-
test. But for that event, he would no doubt have
appeared this day, and borne testimony to his cha-
rader ; he thought that, as lie had known Mrs.
Ellis, he might nrake use of her name in order to
procure a dinner, and he had done it with a less re-
morse, as he really meant to make restitution. It
was his first offence, he had never been in his life-
time a moment in confinement, for any crime, or
suspicion of one, either on sea or on land, and he
sincerely trusted, that this, his first lapse, would be
treated with lenity by the Court. lie added, that
he was persuaded he should have no difficulty
in obtaining employment from several captains of
his Majesty's navy.
The prisoner was found Guilty, and the Court or-
dered him to be put aside, while the measure of his
punishment was taken into consideration.
yobs Doe;ington was indided for fraudulently ob-
taining the sum of three shillings from Mrs. Mat-
tocks, by false pretences. From the evidence of
Mrs. Mattocks it appeared, that her husband was
the steward of the York Hospital, and that the pri-
soner on the day mentioned in the indiament came
to her and said, her husband had sent him on a
message to Westminster, and had direeted her to
pay him three shillings for his trouble ; she accord-
ingly gave it him without the smallest hesitation ;
but upon her husband's coming home she disco-
vered that the prisoner's story was a mere fabrica-
tion, in consequence of which he was apprehended.
The prisoner had nothing to say in his defence, fur-
ther than that he was in want of three shillings, and
that he had made use of this deception to procure
it, firmly intending to repay it the first opportunity.
He had been a soldier, and served seven or eight
years upon the Continent during the late war, and
he had the certificates of the Colonels under whom
he had served, which, if the Court would hear read,
he was ready to produce.
The Court observed it could pay no attention to
any written charader ; if the officers alluded to were
in court, and had any thing to say on his behalf,
they would be heard. It appealed that this prisoner
who was a stout good looking young man, appa-
rently able to gain his living in an honourable way,
had actually, since the last war, received a small
pension from Government.
The Chairman observed, it was a most shameful
thing that fellows who were living on the public
bouuty should be going about the town defrauding
credulous people of their money. The Jury returned
a verdid of guilty.
George Edwardt was indieted for breaking the
windows of a Mr. Denman, with intent to steal his
goods. The prosecutor stated, he kept a shop in the
rand, opposite the Adeiphi, and that he observed
the prisoner standing at the shop window with some-
' thing in his hand ; he watched him, and presently