The Sun.
London, England, 1836-09-06 00:00:00

SINGULAR CASE.

Some time ago a man named Swain, formerly of the Ca-
tholic priesthood, but discarded from that body for miscon-
duct, was charged at the New Bailey, Manchester, with
stealing some clothes from the house of the Rev. Mr.
Kay, Catholic priest, of this town, and being, on his trial,
found guilty, he was sentenced to imprisonment in the New
Bailey. Shortly after his release he was charged by his.
wife, a woman of prepossessing appearance and manners,
with brutally assaulting her, and in d,afault of sureties, was
once more sent to prison. Again, after his release, she
once more appeared against him before the Magistrates,
much reduced in circumstances and condition, and com-
plained that he had assaulted her ferociously when in an
advanced state of pregnancy, and accompanied his violence
with most disgusting prayers against her coming progeny.
For the third time he was sent to prison. He had not
been long at large when he and his wi Fe were brought under
the eye of the law upon suspicion of having scalded to death
the infant against which he had taken so revolting a pre-
possession, and upon the inquiry before the Coroner
they narrowly escaped committal for trial on the charge of
murder. Subsequently to that time Swain went over to
Ireland, and, practising upon the kindly feelings of a gen-
tleman who had known him in his boyhood, and to whom
he represented himself as a convert to Protestantism, he
obtained a letter of recommendation from the Archbishop
of Dublin to the Bishop of Quebec ; money was given him
to convey him to Quebec, letters to parties in England who
could aid his object were also furnished, and his name was
creditably put before the world by those who were ignorant
of his recent history. Instead, however, of going to Que-
bec the man returned to Manchester, where he has been
playing strange antics on the faith of the new character be
had fabricated for himself in Ireland.
On Monday this same Richard Swain was placed at the
bar of the New Bailey, in company with a female named
Anne Archer, charged with having written a fraudulent
character for the usz: of Archer, by means of which she
obtained needlework and appropriated it to her own pur-
poses. The prisoner, with his wife, was lodging in the
same house as Archer, and two witnesses were brought
forward, one of whOm saw him writing, and another saw
when it was written, the fictitious document in question.
Mr. Thomas felt it his duty to state that he had received
information that the prisoner had lately been in Ireland, ob-
tained from the Archbishop of Dublin letters of credit to
the Archbishop of Quebec in the character of a converted
Romish Priest, and had afterwards abstracted the letter

from its envelope, and used it in obtaining money from
several gentlemen in Manchester. He asked time, there-
fore, to make inquiries into this matter. Swain said it was
a very great hardship upon him that he should be detained
on a charge of which he was innocent.

Mr. Poster differed from him in opinion, and the pri
soners were remanded to Wednesday.

On Wednesday they were again brought up. The ori-
ginal charge, involving Archer, could not be satisfactorily
made out ; but the second charge against Swain, of having
obtained money by means of the letter above-named, was
gone into.
The Rev. G. Dugard, librarian of the College, deposed
that the prisoner called on him, represented himself as a re-
formed Catholic Priest, showed a letter from the Archbishop
of Dublin, and, professing that his aim was to get a little
morp'y to help him forward to Quebec, lie did give him 55.,
though he told the man he thought he was acting very un-
wisely in so doing. He also told him that he did not think
the Archbishop's letter was any recommendation to him.
[This letter, from the Archbishop of Dublin to the Bishop
of Quebec, stated that "on examination he found him,
Swain, far too ignorant to be employed at present in the
Ministry, but lie may, perhaps, be enabled to maintain him-
self by teaching Latin and Spanish (having been at Seville),
or as a clerk in some mercantile house, till he shall have
acquired the requisite knowledge." The Archbishop also
dwells on the " deficiency in the first rudiments of Scriptural
knowledge with which Maynooth sends out labourers in the
vineyards."]
The Reverends Piccope and Hollist were next called
upon, but they did not appear, Swain stating coolly that
Mr. Piccope was absent in Wales. The Rev. W. Nunn,
however, deposed to the prisoner having duped him by the
same means as in the case of Mr. Dugard.
The Rev. H. Fielding was called, but he did not appear,
and Swain manifested a nervous desire to put a stop to the
exposure by saying he pleaded guilty to all the cases yet
adduced, but as to Mr. Fielding, lie did not authorise him
to use his name, and he had not, therefore, done so.
Mr. Bagshaw said the prisoner had made all parties by
turns his dupes, and the objects of his vilificat on. He had
in his hand a letter which the man wrote when in prison
against Catholic Priests in this town, mentioning each by
name, and charging one of them with having a concubine in
his house. The man vilified every body that came across
him, when it suited his purpose.

Mr. Greaves askedtheprisoner if he had any witnesses ?
Swain--Witnesses 1 for what purpose ?
Mr. Greaves—For any purpose.
Mr. Norreys—Have you Mr. Buckley here, to say he
gave you that advice ? Swain—l do not say advice ; but
I acted upon his words.
Mr. Lingard—To prove the sincerity of this man's con-
version I may mention that when I told him that I must
write to the Archbishop respecting him, he said if I did so
he must inevitably return to the bosom of the Roman
Catholic Church, where he would be welcomed.

Swain (with affected horror)—Mr. Lingard, Mr Lin-
gard, I said you would drive me to it. I wish you would
produce my letter.
Mr. D. D. Foulkes said he had just been applied to de-
fend the prisoner, but after what had passed he had no ques-
tions to ask.

Swain—As God is my judge, and as I expect salvation
at a future day, I acted from dire necessity alone-4
thought I was doing for the better, as God is my judge.
I have a soul to be saved.

Mr. Greaves—lf you cared for that you would not have
done as you have done. You have been already committed
for assaulting your wife ; imprisoned for felony—
Swain—Only for three months.
Mr. Greaves—You have been tried before the Coroner
for the murder of your own child.
Swain—Honourably acquitted of that, your Worship—
honourably acquitted of that.

Mr. Norreys--Your wife swore, in my presence, that
you exercised your spiritual influence (if I may use the
word) over her for the most diabolical purposes ; and that
when she was near her confinement you prayed before
God Almighty that the child might be born a monster,
and she came to swear to the fact in a state of the greatest
terror before the magistrates. That, she said, was your
constant prayer.

Swain—As God is my judge—
A man stated that when he was watchman in Hanover-
street he heard a noise, and on going up stairs he found the
prisoner holding his child by the heels on the bed and beat-
ing it.

Swain (somewhat discomposed)—Good God, you never
saw me do such a thing.
The man—l did.
Swain—That is not the case, for no person was pre-
sent.—(Laughter.)
Mr. Bagshaw could produce a witness who saw him
strike his child in such a manner that he thought his in-
tention was to kill it.

Swain—l admit that I did correct it ; but do me the
justice to send for my wife.

- - -
Mr. Grcaves— ou are the greatest monster that ever
came before me. A wretch like you ought to be sent from
the face of the earth.

Swain—Send for my wife, and do me justice.
Mr. Greaves said she had no wish to see him, and after
again expressing his regret that the law authorised no
greater security, he committed the prisoner for three months
to hard labour.— Wheeler's Manchester Chrouicle.

It appears fiom a statement laid before the late
,eientilie fleeting at Bristol, that in Glasgow alone upwards of
sixty new churches are wanting to accommodate the enor-
mously increased population of that place.
Active steps are said to be in progress for calling a
county meeting to be held at Hereford, for the purpose of con-
sidering the practicability and probable advantages of a Rail-
way communication between the two cities of Gloucester and
Hereford through Ledbury.