The Sun.
London, England, 1852-04-12 00:00:00

CENTRAL CRIMINAL COURT .
OLD COURT.
(Before Mr. Justice TALFOURD,)
FORGERY.—Charles Clifford, aged 45, described as a
labourer, was indicted for feloniously uttering a forged
receipt for the sum of 601., with intent to defraud George
Holgate Foster, and others. The prisoner pleaded not
guilty.
Mr. Clarkson conducted the prosecution, and the
prisoner defended himself.
It appeared from the evidence that the prisoner, up to
1850, had been in the habit of banking with the London
Joint Stock Bank, but at the commencement of that
year the balance standing in his favour was only ss. sd.
Nevertheless a cheque which he sent in for 12/. was duly
honoured, and he afterwards rent in another which was
stopped. The prisoner then sent in his pass-book to be
examined with his account, and it was discovered by the
bank authorities that an entry of 601. appeared in the
pass-book, but there was no corresponding entry in the
ledger of the bank, which circumstance led to the ap-
prehension of the prisoner on the present charge, as the
entry of the COL was not in the handwriting of
any clerk attached to the bank. The prisoner
had no settled residence or occupation, but
had some indirect connexion with the Stock
Exchange, and generally gave his address as at the Hall
of Commerce, or Garraway's Coffee-house; but last
month his wife called at the bank with a cheque, and
she was asked where she got it from. She at once de-
clared that her husband gave it her, and she was then
asked where he lived, but she refused to say, and she
was detained while an officer went in search of him.
Ho was found waiting in the neighbourhood, and be was
immediately told that his pass-book, which had been
sent in a few days previously, contained a forged entry
for 601., which purported to have been paid into the
bank towards the close of 1850, since which time the
prisoner's account had been balanced. He denied that
it was a forgery, but his denial was not satisfactory;
and he was, therefore, given into the custody of the
police.
On being called upon for his defence,
The prisoner denied the accuracy of the charge, and
solemnly declared to God that he paid 601. into the bank
either on the 30th Sept. or the Ist of Oct. He further
said that if proper inquiries had been instituted no
doubt the fabrication of the entry would have been traced
to some of the employ 6ss in the Bank.
The Learned JUDGE having summed up,
The jury found a verdict of Guilty, but strongly re-
commended him to mercy on account of his poverty.
He was sentenced to transportation for seven years.
Arnold Garber, William Wagner, and Philip Kessler
were placed at the bar to receive judgment.
These prisoners were convicted at the February ses-
sion, principally upon the evidence of au accomplice,
named Solomon Krehcour, of endeavouring to pass a
forged cheque at the London and Westminster Bank.
Sentence upon them was respite(' in the expectation
that they might make some disclosures with regard to
cn alleged system of forgery of which the bankers of
this country and the continent were the intended
victims.
Mr. CLIRRSOIT, who appeared for the prosecution,
said that the prisoners had made no such disclosures,
and he therefore prayed the judgment of the Court.
The Learned JUDGE said he was directed by Mr.
Justice
r transportedhe
p re Er r f Williams,Gerber,
vvrtebhueor3:ternietda.the case, to order them to
be
sl
thatre s shethe
he was
wa s C our t iin
innocent a naatsedxhcei
thattel was
mt
hal
eenanvc! rn,g
chargeatnh
he bda aedcr
ha
ear tad-
thatiiph
order trumpedagainst him
hhiiramsehlytgtehteenweitenfessrefred
trouble.er to, in
• structed for the andWeiellriraumptJpaeekr.isuornyp.leaded guilty to a charge of wilful
Mr. CnesansoN, who was in
prosecu-
tion, said that this e
ab
laaregde had
Revenue, h
iap reeef
ne rs re etida
ebnye
et hoof
evidence Commissioners
given
hoyfs
the prisoner in favour of certain par-
ties charged with working an illicit still. There was no
tain facts w
that he was to some extent
doubt that thhieahprhiesoknneir,whatde uhpeofnalosaet;h
hdaetposietdaptopeaereerd-
that he was very young, and
under tehiercianmflusetanneeccos, the
of other parties,
wouldies,and possibly, under
inclined
dndeter
these
take a lenient view of the case.
The Learned .JUDGE sentenced the prise= to be kept
to hard labour for nine months.
Isaac Cooper, 24, fisherman; Thomas Knott, 30, fisher-
man; and Richard Palmer, 27, fisherman, were indicted
for piratically taking possession of a fishing-vessel upon
the high seas, within the jurisdiction of the Admiralty
of England.
In another count the prisoners were charged with
the offence of simple larceny in stealing the same
vessel.
me. PAYNE, who appeared for the prosecution, said
that this indictment was framed under the statute of
the 11th and 12th William the Third, which enacted
" that if any person having the charge of a
British vessel, and being a British subject, should
unlawfully take possession of such a vessel it should
be deemed an act of piracy," and subjected the
party convicted of the offence to a certain punishment
prescribed by the Act of Parliament. The Learned
Counsel then proceeded to state the facts of the case,
and it appeared that the vessel in question was named
the Experiment, and she had formerly been a revenue
cutter, but had been purchased by a gentleman named
Howard, who was the owner of a number of fishing-
vessels, to be emplsyed for the same purpose at Great
Grimsby. She sailed from that place on a fishing
voyage on the 4th of January, and at that time the
prisoner Cooper acted as master, and there were also on
board a man named Denny, who was the mate, and a
seaman named Smales, and two boys. The ordinary
course of proceeding on such occasions was for the vessel
to remain at sea fishing three or four days, and then to
return to the port with the fish that was taken, which
was then sent up to London. It appeared that instead of
doing this the prisoner Cooper, in the first instance, after
they had obtained a quantity of fish, proceeded to Scar-
borough, where he sold the fish, and then wrote a letter
to the agent at Grimsby, stating that the vessel was in
a bad state, and required repairs, and he requested that
some money. should be sent to him for that purpose.
The agent, in consequence of this, dispatched a person
to Scarborough, under whose directions some repairs
were done to the vessel, and she proceeded to sea again,
and the prisoner Cooper continued fishing until they
had got a cargo, when, instead of returning to Grimsby,
as it was his duty to have done, he sailed to Sunder-
land, where he sold the fish that had been caught, and
also some of the tackle belonging to the vessel. He
then proposed to Smales and Denny that they should go
across to Holland, and get a freight and smuggle it
home; but they both refused to have anything to do
with such a proceeding. While they were at Sunder-
land, the prisoner Palmer, who wont by the name of
" Dover Dick," came on board, and he also pressed them
to join in the smuggling trip, and said that he had fre-
quently been across before. They still, however, re-
fused to join them, and Smales proceeded immediately
to Grimsby and stated what had occurred. At length
it appeared the three prisone..3 took the vessel away
from Sunderland, and after fishing about the coast a
short time, they sailed across the Channel, to a port
called New Dieppe, on the Dutch coast, and upon
their arrival they sold all the fish they had taken
for a bottle of gin and some tobacco, and very shortly
afterwards they sold a large quantity of chain cable,
three anchors, a compass, and other articles belonging
to the vessel, and, in fact, almost dismantled her. The
affair subsequently came to the knowledge of the British
consul, who ordered the prisoners into custody, and they
were soon afterwards brought over to England with the
vessel to answer the present charge.
The prisoners said nothing in their defence.
The jury acquitted Knott, who appeared to have
merely obeyed she orders he received, and found the
other two prisoners guilty.
Mr. Justice Tenements observed that the offence of
which the prisoners had been convicted was a very seri-
ous one, and he sentenced Cooper to be transported for
ten, and the others for seven years. The Learned Judge
at the same time observed that the man Smales appeared
to have acted very well in the matter, and that his con-
duct deserved some consideration at the hands of the
prosecutor.
Mr. Howard said it was his intention to make him
a present for the very proper manner in which he
had acted.

In
t(nßeefconruersßeonsfsELthLe
FOURTH COURT.
GaufßteNrEnToOnEasq' juryQ'ew.e)re em-
panelled in the grand jury-room.
George Shirley, 16, poulterer, was indicted for
killing and slaying Ann Shirley.
Mr. Platt prosecuted, and Mr. Parry defended.
It appeared that the prisoner and his father reside
in Vincent-court, Westminster, and the woman co-
habited with his father. The prisoner bad always
been very kind to her, contributing to her support.
She was a woman of most drunken and abusive
habits. On the sth of March the prisoner came home
while sbe was cutting some bread, and she imme-
diately began to abuse him, taxing him with having
stolen a penny, which he denied, and was much
frightened at her violence. She continued for some
time to abuse him, and at last threw the knife at him,
which fortunately fell at his feet. She then struck at
him, until at last he seized the poker and struck her
a blow on the side of the head, but not a very severe
one. She, becoming ill, was taken to the West-
minster Hospital, where she died the next night.
The surgeon who attended her and made a post-
mortem examination of the body, said he never saw a
body
him to explain the exact cause of death.
so fearfully diseased, and it seemed difficult for
Several witnesses gave the boy an excellent cha-
racter for kindness and humanity.
The jury Acquitted him.
Daßiel Billinolon,
28, labourer, was indicted for
stabbing Ellen Sweeny, with intent to kill her.
Mr. W. Cooper prosecuted.
The
habits
Murder that nickname
been stabbed in with
13akee, likeness to the
hmurderer
Good goes by
h use in
padnreordslecutrix and prisoner (who from his savage
anaiFelrcisohhwabniniteadnt,ogient ear, sleeping
iodging:inn a room
22d of m
and the en the came home, and were quarrelling,
eY, Rosemary-lane. On the night of the
versed the abdoe
Irishwoman was awoke by the cries of
hospital, in three places. She was taken to tke
she then found that the woman had
and close in whereth one was found to be two inches deep,
The poor
life had been saved, and it was a miracle that her
be prevailed region of the kidneys ; another tra-
creatu
was in the room
injury to her; but the the Court to Bay who did the
upon by who seemed very ill, could not
The jury found quite conclusive.
was" evidence of the woman who
him Guilty.