The Sun.
London, England, 1837-12-07 00:00:00

APPREHENSION OF A GANG OF

COINERS.

For a length of time past the town of Manchester and 1
its neighbourhood have been very much inundated with
base coin, and scarcely a day has elapsed without a prisonei
having been brought before the magistrates at the New
Bailey, under charges of paying base coin. Under these
circumstances, the police were of opinion that coining was
goiqg on in Manchester to some extent, and they deter-
mined to use every effort to discover the parties. Mr.
Diales, deputy constable of Salford,received some informa-
tion' which caused him to despatch four of his officers—
Normansell, Rooney, Lindsey, and Atkinson—on Saturday
evening to Lees-street, Ancoats, to a cottage inhabited by
an old man named Fearns. They found that the lower
part of the house was perfectly quiet, and it was only at in-
tervals that signs of any living creature being within ap-
peared, so well had all the inmates, who, it will appear, were
engaged in a room above, managed to prevent the light
shining from the window. Normansell, the officer, who
was engaged in a similar expedition about a year ago, and
carve off with great credit, had, as before, provided himself
with a heavy sledge-hammer ; and the signal having been
given, " at one fell stroke" he burst the door, in spite of
four very strong bolts by which it had been secured. The
officers then, in a body, rushed up-stairs, and the first things
that met their attention were two very fierce dogs ; but
Normansell, with his hammer, very speedily kept them at
bay, and Lindsey then entered the apartment. He found
all in perfect confusion, there being four persons in the
room, one of whom was stamping upon something on the
floor with his foot. The other man was taking a pan from
tha fire and pouring out the contents. Lindsey rushed
upon the first, and threw him down ; and the other officers
speedily secured the other persons in the room. It was
then found that the first man, whose name is Richard Sin-
gleton, had been endeavouring to destroy a plaster of Paris
cast of a shilling, and in which was the metal ready cast.
The pan contained metal in a state of fusion. Several
moulds of shillings, made of plaster of Paris, were found, and
the usual implements used by coiners. A shilling, with
which the impression on the false dies had been made %leas
also found at the bottom of a bucket of water. During the
whole time, two of the persons in the room, Fearns, the
occupier of the cottage, and his wife, were laid upon a bed ;
and Fearns was asked what account he had to give of the
matter, but made no reply. He subsequently asked the
officers what had brought them there at all, he should like
to know. The fourth person, a man calling himself George
Alan, said that he was there for the purpose of looking at
a dog belonging to Fearns. On Monday the four prisoners
were brought up at the New BailLy, before Mr. J. F.
Foster and Mr— L. B. Holling,shead, sitting magistrates.
Mr. Naftali, of the Harp Tavern, Lees-street, big
sworn, proved that the prisoner Allen had paid a bad half-
crown to him, which he said he had got for fighting a battle.
Mr. Nuttall told him it was a bad one, and he then wanted
it to be rcturoed, but Mr. Nuttall would not gi% e it him un-
ti he produced the person front whom he had received it.
Mr. Nuttall afterwards gave it into the care of 'Mr. Dig-
gies. A person named Wolstenhulme also stated that
17,arnes had offered a bad shilling to him ; but he detect ty
it, and told hm it was a bad one. Foams then said that 1
it was a had one, he would give him a good one in its stead,
Mr. Wolstenholme then told him that he would not do this.
t h 3 would keep it for his sake. The above evidence was
titer committed to writing ; and the four prisoners were, be
the names of Thom ts end azabeth Foams, Richard Sin-
t;lcton, end George Allen committed to take their trial at
the ensuing assizes at Liverpool, on the charge of coining.
Free Picss.