The British Press; or, Morning Literary Advertiser.
London, England, 1803-06-22 00:00:00

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QUARTER SESSIONS,:t3R-tEI4-STREET.,
TUESDAY, JUNE 14.
Hearn, John Cavanagh, John bonellyjohn
Ivo% fainiteelot ritioa, Frier Connelly, and Joseph
Dark, stood indicted capitally for robbing the dwel-
ling-honse of .Margaret O'Brien, a celebrated Cy-
prian in Cope-street, on the evening of Sunday, 22d
May, of several articles of plate, watches, gold
and diamond rings, wearing apparel,• bed curtains,
&c. to a considerable amount.
Catherine Fitzgerald deposed, that she was in
Margaret O'Brien's house on the evening of the day
laid in the indiftment ; that she had been in an
apartment on the second floor, when a number of
soldiers, preceded by a man in coloured clothes,
came in a riotous manner to the front door, and
broke it in. They were followed by 'a very numer-
ous mob, who ran up stairs, broke the sashes from
the windows, plundered the apar,ments of every
thing they could lay hands on, and flung them indis-
criminately through the windows into the street.—
Witness ran down stairs, regardless of her appear-
ance, being almost naked, and seized on a soldier by
the belt, who instantly laid hold on her, and asked,
What had become of the Officer who had been
murdered there the preceding night r"l'he mob
joined in this cry, and called loudly to know where
the murdered Officer had been deposited ! Witness
could identify I lallam among the set; who cried out
to her, while a soldier with a drawn bayonet had
been threatening her, and others of the mob bawling
her about, to make her escape as quiet as possible
while she had life, else she would be murdered ! She
determined to avail herself of this friendly hint—
went to her room to dress herself--and made her es-
cape between the hours of seven and eight in the
evening. She returned about nine o'clock, when
she found the house rifled of almost every article it
contained, except a sopha and two or three beds ;
two cloth habits, certain trunks, and a suit of red
curtainc, which she was certain she saw when she
quitted the house, 'she on return found were missing.
She thought it possible that I lallarn might have gone
there with a view to save the lives of the Mistress or
Inmates of the house. Mrs. O'Brien had been ab-
sent on an excursion to her country house, and there
were only two females beside herself within, when
the mob ransacked the house, the maid having been
out for tea.
Cross examined by Mr. -M,Nally.—Witness ad-
mitted it was possible that persons passing by the
street might easily pick up any of the articles that
had been thrown out at the windows. The mob
within the house, to the number she believed of 100
persons, not content with rifling and plundering the
house, smashed glasses, piaures, &c. that came in
their way. She recognised some of the articles,
which did belong to the Abbess, in the hands of
Harris, a Constable,----who in his turn deposed, that
being a Constable belonging to St. Andrew's Watch,
though not being adually on duty at that early
hour in the evening of the 22d May, yet having
heard of the riot in Cope-street and elsewhere, he
went near the scene of ation, accompanied by a
guard—not a military guard.
Q. What description of guards were they? Were
they Black-guards ?
A. No ; they were Drab-guards.—This epithet
was afterwards explained to have allusion to the
uniform coats which the Watch now wear.
He further deposed that he saw Hallam, the pri-
soner, near Bedford-row, with a trunk under his
arm, which he seized on, and afterwards delivered
to Mrs. O'Brien, who laid claim to it. Two cloth
habits, a suit of red curtains, and a Gentleman's
dressing gown, he found in a ferry-boat with the
prisoners Ivers and Donelly. He also found a chair
with them, which Denelly sail they had found float-
iirg in the river; the chair, however, was not wet.
The bundle of clothes, curtains, &c. they said, cer-
tain passengers crossing the water left there.—Found
Cavanagh with a chair under his arm, which he
said a ,:entleman gave him ; this also he gave to
Mrs.' O'Brien.—Saw the prisoner Carlton with a
whole drawer in his possession, and part of a broken
one.—He net Dark in the ferry boat with the other
prisoner.
On cross-examination, the I‘itness corroborated
part of the testimony of the last witness, respefting
the riotous soldiery about the house in Cope-street.
Margaret O'Brien deposed, that she left her town
house about five o'clock on Sunday, 22d of May,
and went to her country house near Baggot-street.
When she departed from her house in Cope-street,
she was confident she left property there, in the care
of a confidential female servant, to the amount of
'2OOOl. of which she had been plundered and robbed,
except a very few. heavy articles difficult to have
removed ; her plate and jewels particularly, which
she had been colleeling for 18 years : many of these
precious thingswere endeared to her, not from their
weight or intrinsic value, but from considerations
of love and affeelion.
The plate she was robbed of consisted of a bread
basket, fish-trowel, teapot and tray, a number of
table, desert, and tea-spoons. She had 19 watches
and six gold rings, two of them set with diamonds,
all of which she lost, with wearing apparel, bedding,
&c. Of all these various articles she never recovered
any, except what Harris deposed to have given her,
and a pink pelisse.
Respeding a man of the name of Benson, she
believed, from a variety of circumstances, that he
was the person who conduded the soldiery to rob
her: previous to the robbery she saw him dressed
nearly in rags, but the day after she found him
stuck in Hessian boots, wearing a good blue coat
and plush breeches, which she dared to say could
not be worth less than three guineas.
Benson was called on his recognizance to give
evidence, but he did not appear.
Mr. GREENI, Counsel fcir the Crown, informed
the Court, that, under certain circumstances to
which his Lordship pointed, he was willing to with-
draw the capital part of the indidment, that of
stealing from the dwelling-house, and proceed with
that part laid at common law, viz. stealing gene-.
rally.
Mr. MiNALt.v, for the prisoners, said, he had
no defence to make for his clients, except what may
arise from the circumstances detailed in the former
evidence, and also from most excellent charaetzrs;
which a number of respedable persons attended to
give them.
'I hese men all proved to have had very good cha-
rafters, particularly Hallam, the only one against
whom any thing resembling strong presumption of
guilt appeared.
The-Jury acquitted all the primers without leav
ing.tiselmx.