The Sun.
London, England, 1863-02-14 00:00:00

THAMES.

PAWNBROKERS LENDING MONEY ON THEIR OWN
GOODS. Ann Heathway, a masculine-looking Irish
woman, was brought before Mr. Woolrych charged with
stealing a shawl, the property of Messrs. French and
Ogilvie, pawnbrokers, in High-street, Poplar.
It appeared in evidence that the prisoner had been for
some time in the practice of pawning and redeeming pro-
perty at the prosecutors' establishment, and often raised
money upon articles entrusted to her by others as well as
her own. Yesterday the prisoner offered a shawl in pawn,
and requested a loan of os. upon it. The shawl, a valuable
one, was handed by an assistant to Mr. Ogilvie, who saw
his own private mark upon it, and identified it as one that
had been stolen on Thu, eday in last we. k. The prosecutors
were then induced to look at some petticoats, which the
prisoner had pawned some time ago. They also bore the
private marks en the firm, and had been stolen out of the
shop. Mr. French was enabled to say the shawl had never
been sold, and that the prisoner was its his shop two or three
times on the day ii was missed. lie added that the pri-
soner had pawned various articles at other pawnbrokers'
shops, and the goods were strongly suspected to be stolen.
The prisoner, in defence, said another woman asked her
to pawn the shawl, sad put the question to the magistrate
If I stole (hat shawl from French and Ogilvie, would I
be such a fool as to take it there and ask them to lend
money upon it I'
Mr. Woolrych said that thieves did take very impudent
courses, which 1, dto detection, He sentenced the prisoner
to six weeks' imprisonment and hard labour, for the un-
lawful possession of the shawl.
IMPUDENT ROBBERY AT THE COMMERCIAL GAS-WORKS.
--Thomas Wickham, a slater, was brought up on remand
before Mr. Woolrych, on a charge of stealing lea t from the
roof of the Commercial Gas Company's factory in t•tepney.
Mr. Thomas Price, solicitor and clerk to the vestry of
Mile-end, Old Town, conducted the prosecution, and said
a good deal of lead bad been removed from the gas com-
pany's premises, and the roof injured. Although the
quantity of lead taken by the prisoner was of a tritng
value, the Commercial Gas Company felt bound to prose-
cute to prevent a repetition of a system of robbery by which
they had sustained considerable loss and inconvenience.
It appeared from the evidence that the prisoner had been
ere? oyed as a slater on the roof of the gas-works, and that
on the morning of the 2d inst., about 10 o clock, a quantity
of sheet lead was missing from the roof of the gas factory.
a
Mr. William Hales, a foreman in the employ of the gas
company, saw the lead safe an hour before. The prisoner
wasobserved by Cornwall Tyler, a foreman, to descend from
the roof
just before the lead
missing,, c,t and he then ap-
peared very bulky, was mlss
The prisoner got upon a wall, jumped
into a field alongside the gas works, and made his escape.
sergeant
A detective tg ea
named George Pullen, of the K
division, subsequentlyapprehended the prisoner, who
said he did come
off
the roof the time
men-
tioned, but denied having taken the lead,
that he roof of the gas com-
pany's retort house, and discovered three quarters of a
Pullen said he had examined t
cwt. of sheet lead was missing. About
was missing from the roof of the gas factory"‘aeyeaaws cwt of lead
the company had to make it good.
The prisoner, in his defence, said he knew lead was gone
from the roof of the gas factory, but he did Dot steal
i
The gas company want to get him punished, He was.
quite innocent.
Mr. Price—This is an affair likely to be repeated if not
checked.
Mr. Woolrych committed the prisoner for trial.