The Sun.
London, England, 1862-09-17 00:00:00

MIDDLESEX SESSIONS, Sept. 16.

(Before Mr. Sergeant Gaselee, Q.C.)
Edwin Theay, 20, bookbinder, was indicted for
stealing a watch from the person of John William
Pritchard.

Mr. Orridge prosecuted. The prisoner was unde-
fended.

The prosecutor stated that he is a clerk, and on
the 23d of August, about 12 o'clock at night, ho was
walking with some friends along the Caledonian-
road, Islington, and upon arriving at the corner of
it at King's-cross he was accosted by the prisoner,
who accused him of kicking an old gentleman who
had just passed, for which there was not the slightest
foundation. The prisoner was accompanied by 4or
4 other persons. Witness indignantly denied the
accusation, upon which the prisoner walked up close
to him, and immediately afterwards he felt some
person's hand in his pocket. He put his hand to his
pocket and found his watch gone, the chain hang-
' ing loose from his waistcoat pocket. Witness called
out that his watch was gone, and at the same mo-
ment saw the prisoner running across the road.
Witness's brother pursued the prisoner, but he ma-
naged to escape; but he went to the station-house
and gave a description of him, and from this he was
subsequently apprehended.
Stephen Pritchard, brother of the prosecutor,
corroborated this evidence.

L. J. Tomkins, police-constable 315 N, and J.
Bush, 162 B, proved apprehending the prisoner from
the description given of him by the prosecutor.
The jury, without hearing a summing up from
the learned judge, immediately returned a verdict
of guilty. _ _

Police-constable Cooke, 198 N, proved that the
prisoner had been convicted in this court, and sen-
tenced to imprisonment for 12 months in 1861. At
that time a previous conviction was put in against
him.

George Lockyer, the prison officer of Coldbath-
fields, also proved five former convictions, ranging
from 1859 to 1862.

Mr. Sergeant Gaselee said that society must be
relieved from such a fellow, as he was a complete
nuisance, and therefore the sentence upon him was
that he be kept in penal servitude for five years.
As soon as the sentence was pronounced the pri-
soner threw himself upon a seat in the doch, and was
in the act of removing his shoes for the purpose of
throwing them at the learned judge, but the dock
officer caught hold of him, and although he struggled
violently he succeeded in throwing him on to the
floor of the dock until further assistance was
obtained. He continued struggling violently to
get at his shoes, and it required the united efforts
of three officers to convey him to the cells below.
Upon getting into the cell he seized hold of a large
water-jug and attempted to throw it at Lockyor,
the officer, but he managed to escape the intended
assault.

Jas. Dalton was indicted for embezzling the sum
of 31s. from his employer, Geo. Walter, Mortimer-
road, Kingsland.
Mr. Foot prosecuted. Mr. Dickie defended the
priaoner.

- The jury aquitted the prisoner.
M. de Winton, 29, a young man of the most re-
spectable appearance, was indicted charged with
stealing two earrings, value £2, the property of
Amelia Herbert, from her person.
Mr. Best prosecuted. Mr. Williams defended the
prisoner.

Mr. Best having briefly opened the case, called
Miss Amelia Herbert, a young woman of very
showy and prepossessing appearance, who said—l
reside at Grove-place, Brompton. I remember being
in Piccadilly on Friday, Aug. 15, between 9 and 10
o'clock in the evening. The prihner was there in
a cab, and he called me to it, and eventually I got
into it, and he took me to the Count de Morley's, at
6'7, Great Titehfield-street, but he was not at home.
We then adjourned to the Army and Navy Club,
and we were driving about until nearly 12 o'clock
at night. The prisoner said he had got a£s note,
and unless he could change that he could not pay
the cabman. He eventually went home with me to
my house at Brompton and passed the night with
me. The following day he sent the servant to Mr.
Gates, a job master at Brompton, and ordered a
brougham, which; arrived about 5 o'clock in the
evening. We had a drive together, and then re-
turned to my house. We came up to town between
7 and 8, and we again drove to the Count de Mor-
ley's. He was not at home, but we were told
where we should find him. We then went to
Charlotte-street, Portman-square, where we found
the Count de Morley. While the prisoner went to
see the count I was left in the brougham. The
count and the prisoner then got into the brougham,
and we were driven to a cafe in Great Windmill-
street. We all went into the cafe and had some re-

freshments. The prisoner said he wanted to go to
the London Pavilion,near the Argyll Rooms, to get
change for some Belgian notes. I remained in the
cab, and the prisoner went away, and did not re-
turn until 11 at night. I was sitting in the brougham
all the time. I was awake all the time, but I was
very faint in consequence of sitting in the cab so
many hours. He came back to the cab and got
in again for a few minutes, and said as he had
been unable to get change for the notes, I must
wait, and he must speak again to the Count de
Morley. A few minutes after he was gone I put
my hands to my ears, and found that my ear-
rings were gone. Just before he talked to me
in the brougham I put back my hair, and my ear-
rings were in my ears then, but I missed them soon
after he was gone. He did not return to me again
that evening. I spoke to the driver of the brougham,
and told him that my earrings were gone. I saw
the prisoner on the Tuesday everting afterwards in
Piccadilly. I said, " Halloa, where are my ear-
rings ?" He said, " They are at my house. I was
going to bring them to you. I took them for a lark,
and there was another man with me." I was going
to give him in charge, but he was off before I could
do so. The Count de Morley was not then with
him. (The earrings were produced.) These ear-
rings are mine, and I never gave the prisoner leave
to take them or use them in any way.
Cross-examined by Mr. Williams—l live at

Brompton. The way I get my living was by living
under the protection of a gentleman ever since I
came to London until about a month ago. When I
first saw the prisoner I was walking in Piccadilly
on my way to the Argyll Rooms, and he called me
to him in a cab. The prisoner remained in the cab
while he had a conversation with me. I then got
into the cab, and proceeded with the prisoner to
the Count de Morley's. We then went to the Army
and Navy Club, He then went with me to my own
house, where the prisoner passed the night. I rose
between 10 and 11 the next morning, when the
prisoner made a proposition about going for a drive.
A brougham was sent for, and we drove round the
Cremorne Gardens and Chelsea. He told me he
would stop all day, and that he would give me £lO
in the evening. We afterwards drove to town to
Count de Morley's, but he was not at home. We
afterwards found him. We went to a cafe, and
the Count de Morley paid for the refreshments.
While we were in the cafe the prisoner asked the
Count de Morley for £lOO, and he said he had got
but £6O in Belgian notes, and the prisoner left for
the London Pavilion to get them changed. While
we were riding together in the brougham I told the
prisoner that I was in debt to my landlady, and he
said he Would get the money, pay my landlady, and
She took some of take me away. I did owe the landlady
.money.
she knew
prisoner
drings,h t becausewa s notshe
as said
gentle-
man.th a t
thnlys
The prisonere he would take me
away from my landlady,ai andta he would take lodg-
ings for me. When he left m e inthe
Belgian
he said
he would try to get change for the notes.
He returned a little after eleven o'clock. At the
time I missed my earrings I was in the brougham,
and quite awake. Both earrings, of course, were
not turned to the same side of the brougham. I
bonnet, a little smaller than the
oirirti tlt
ihiatmo crape
now wearing, At no part of the
vtaw
hbr did I ask the
I did say that
wmaes wi ni
t ht hseu bp
rpeeurg,
evening while wtohtirleealt
f •
felt
I v,,anted to go home, as I aunt through being
out so many hours. I swear positively that I did
not put my earrings into the prisoner's , hand and
tell him to get money on them, as I owed rent to
my landlady, and that I wanted some supper. I
had jewellery in my house, which I kept in my
with me I put oa my
dressin
jawel-desk. The jewellery that I was wearing
when the prisoner went home
three g-table.
Re-examined by Arr. Best-1 owed my landlady
thr
guineas, which was a week's rent.
A isdellard Martin said he was servant to Mr. Gates,

jobmaster, of Brompton, and he was sent with a
brougham to drive out the prisoner and a lady. The
prisoner pulled the check-string in Piccadilly, and
said he wanted to go somewhere, and that he was
to be back in Great Windmill-street in an hour.
Witness went, and then did not see the lady with
the earrings in her ears. The lady complained to
him that she had lost something.
Henry Salmon said—l keep an oyster-shop at
67, Haymarket. I remember Saturday evening,
the 16th August. The prisoner came to my horse
between eleven and twelve. He came by himself.
He asked me if I would let him have supper, as he
had been out all day with a lady in a brougham.
He said "If you will let me have some supper
I will deposit with you a pair of earrings," and,
as I knew him, I said that I did not mind doing so.
He went out, and returned with the earrings, and
then he said as he had no money to pay for a cab,
he would be glad if I would lend him a few shil-
lings. I did so, and lent him 15s. He then went
out, and shortly afterwards returned with a lady,
but it was not Miss Herbert, the prosecutrix, and
she had supper. I have known the prisoner for
some time.

James Pace, police-constable 315 A, said he ap-
prehended the prisoner atthe bar on the 24th of
August, in Arundel-court, Haymarket. He charged
him with stealing a pair of earrings. He said that
he knew he had them, but they were given to him
by the prosecutrix. He said that they were at
Salmon's, in the Haymarket.
Mr. Best said that was the case for the prosecution.
Mr. M. Williams said the jury had heard the
statement of his learned friend, and the evidence
by which he had attempted to support it, and al-
though he had made some amusing remarks, he still
thought they were unfitting the occasion, which
was of a very serious nature as affecting the pri-
soner at the bar, who was a gentleman of position,
of education, and had had the honour of serving in
her Majesty's army. He was a gentleman of high
integrity, and although he might have been guilty
of follies, yet he was far above the suspicion of
theft, for if that had really been his object he could
have possessed himself of the jewellery of the prose-
cutrix, which lay open upon her dressing-table, while
she was asleep, or of the watch which she was
wearing whilst he was riding in the brougham
with her. The real truth was that, on the Satur-
day night the prosecutrix wanted to have supper,
and as the money changers' offices were closed,
and he could not get change for the Belgian
notes, she handed to him the earrings to obtain
money upon them from some of the nighthouses
in the neighbourhood, to furnish the means of
having supper; and this charge would never have
been made had it not come to the knowledge of the
prosecutrix that the prisoner had been seen at Mr.
Salmon's, the oyster-shop, with another woman,
who had been supplied with supper out of the pro-
ceeds of the property which belonged to her. That
was really the kernel of the nut, and gave an ex-
planation of the whole of the transaction, which had
induced the prosecutrix to come forward to prefer
this charge; but he firmly trusted that, however
much the jury might condemn the prisoner in pick.
ing up with persons in the position of the prosecu-
trix, who was little removed from those who walked
the streets for their support, they would restore
him by their verdict to that position in society
which he had hitherto enjoyed, and, by the expe-
rience it had given him, make him a wiser and a
better man. (Applause.)
Mr. Sergeant Gaselee then summed up, and said
these poor women were worthy of commiseration,
rather than the severe cross-examination which the
learned counsel for the prisoner had pursued towards
her. The prisoner had taken this young lady in a
brougham, and he was charged with taking the ear-
rings from her me, and the jury would judge of the
truth of her testimony by the manner in which she
had given her evidence. As to the statement of the
learned counsel, that if he had contemplated theft
the prisoner could have carried it out at her own
house, that was not likely then, for he had another
object in view; and because he did not do so then
it was by no means inconsistent with what was
done afterwards. He went further through the evi-
dence, and said that even if he had not stolen the
earrings, and supposing that this young lady had
given them to him to obtain money upon them, he
could still be prosecuted under the present indict-
ment as a fraudulent bailee in not handing over the
money he obtained upon them to the prosecutrix,
but kept it and appropriated it to his own use.
The jury then considered their verdict, and after
nearly half an hour's consultation, returned a ver-
dict of guilty.
On being asked why sentence should not be pro-
nounced upon him,
The prisoner said he was as innocent of the
charge as any person at present in the court, and
he protested that the earrings had been placed in
his hands by the prosecutrix herself for the purpose
of obtaining supper, and he knew that her landlord
and lady had persuaded the prosecutrix to press
this charge against him under a belief that he (pri-
soner) would pay any sum of money to them rather
than appear in a court of justice. He had also
witnesses in attendance that the prosecutrix had
recently stated in the Haymarket, that if she had
£lO she would go away, and would not appear in
support of the charge.
Mr. Serjeant Gaselee said, admitting that to be
so, he was still liable to imprisonment as a fraudu-
lent bailee. If he had obtained from this poor
woman her earrings, and she had given them to
him as bailee to pawn them, why had he not
pawned them and banded over the money to this
poor woman, which he had not done, but, according
to his own account had spent the money upon an-
other woman. As to the position in society of the
prisoner, he was happy to say that the laws of
England were no respecter of persons, and he felt
assured that no man of the slightest delicacy of feel-
ing would desire to feed on the profits of this poor
woman. While they felt the utmost indignation
at his conduct, they must take care that they did
not allow that indignation to work too heavily
against the offender, for he now stood in the dock
like any other ordinary offender, and nothing was
known of his high position in society but what was
stated by his own counsel. He stood in the clock
where many others had stood before, and as nothing
was known of him they should treat this as the first
offence, and that had induced them to pass a lenient
sentence, for it was indeed a lenient sentence, and
which was that he be imprisoned and kept to hard
labour for six months.

The prisoner was then removed.
Alfred Ryan, 24, was convicted of stealing a
purse from Mrs. Coleman, at the Stepney Sta-
tion of the Blackwall Railway, and a former
conviction being proved against him he was sen-
tenced to penal servitude for three years.