The Sun.
London, England, 1836-04-09 00:00:00

CENTRAL CRIMINAL COURT.

OLD COURT.

James Barnes, 45, was indicted for that he being em-
ployed in the General Post-Office, did feloniously secrete
several letters, and embezzle the sums of Bs. 4d., 7s. 10d.,
and 4d., which came into his hands by virtue of his office.
The Solicitor-General, Mr. Shepherd, and Mr. Ado!.
phus, appeared for the prosecution, and Messrs. Rice,
Bodkin, and C. Phillips for the defence.
The SOLICITOR-GENERAL briefly stated the case, as it
afterwards appeared in evidence.
Mr. Wm. Young, a clerk in the Foreign department of
the General Post-Office, deposed that the branch receiving
offices send bags of letters daily to the General Post-
Office. Both Foreign and Inland letters are sent,
which are afterwards transmitted to the different offices.
Colonial letters are sent to the inland-office. It sometimes
happened that Colonial letters were forwarded by mistake
to the foreign, instead of the inland-offico. When such a
mistake occurred, the letters and postage paid were returned
by the clerk. The postage is always paid before-hand on
Foreign letters, and no letters could get into the Foreign
bag without the postage being paid. These letters are
transmitted, through a tunnel that runs under the Hall,
from the foreign to the inland-office. The prisoner was pre-
sident of the Foreign office, and had controul over the other
clerks in the Foreign office. On the evening of Tuesday
(4th March) witness was the window-clerk at the Foreign
office, and it was his duty to receive the postage of Foreign
letters. The prisoner came to him with a letter, and
said he wanted the postage to send to the Inland-office, as
it had been put into the Foreign-office by mistake, and he
also asked for foreign letters to the same amount of post-
-age. Witness did as he was desired. This was necessary
to keep his accounts properly balanced. The letters
brought to him by the prisoner were directed, Nova Sco-
tia, Halifax, Sydney, and other places. Witness saw some
other letters and newspapers in the prisoner's hat, and co-
pied the addresses on them, The amount of postage wit-
ness paid to the prisoner that evening, was Bs. 10d. The
letters were here put into witness's hand, and identified by
him. Was present when the prisoner was examined at Mr.
Peacock's office. He denied having any letters in his
drawers or about his person. The examination took place
the following day (sth March.)
Cross-examined by Mr. PRlCE—There are four windows
in the Foreign-office, but only one clerk on duty at a time.
The clerk is relieved at six in the evening, but there is no
stated time for going on in the morning. Witness was on
duty the whole of Friday, the 4th of March. The pri-
soner was, he believes, 27 years in the Post-office, and filled
all the different situations up to the one he last held. The
prisoner could have defrauded the Post-office while filling
the situation of window clerk if he had then the same con-
trol of the money as witness now has ; the letters were
lying carelessly in prisoner's hat, and any person coming
into the room could have seen them. The prisoner was at
the time apparently asleep at the fire. When I gave the
money and letters I asked no questions, as I had no right
to do so. I only took the name of the place to which the
letters were directed,.and the stamp of the place whence
they came. I did not think it necessary, and had not time
to take the entire addresses.
Wasteal Arrowsmith—l am a clerk in the Foreign
Office. I relieved the last witness, as window clerk, on
Friday the 4th of March. About seven o'clock the pri-
soner brought some letters, for which I paid him 7s. 10d.,
and subsequently 4d. for a newspaper. On the following
day, in the examination before Mr. Peacock, the prisoner
was asked if he had any letters about him, or if he had
forwarded the letters on which the postage had been paid.
He said he had kept back none, and had none about
him ; that he had forwarded all.

Cross-examined. by Mr. PHILLIPS—The night in ques-
tion was a foreign post night, but it was not a particularly
busy night. The Malta, the Indian, and the Buenos
Ayres monthly mails were not made up on that night ; he
could not, however, positively swear to the fact. There
was more business for the President to do on a Foreign-
post night than on ordinary occasions. He (witness),had
made mistakes in his business, and bad been reproved for
then?. Mr. Barnes had assisted once in the sorting-office, and
might have done oftener without the knowledge of witness.
The President was referred to in all cases of difficulty ; they
frequently arose. There were thousands of letters came in
on a Foreign-post night.

Re-examined—lf-there was a great press of lansines3 he
would not look for the President at the window.

Richard Craddock examined by Mr. SCARLETT—Was a
messenger in the General Post-office. Went on duty at a
quarter before five on the night in question at the tunnel,
and if any letters bad come through the tunnel from the
Foreign-office on that night, he should have received them ;
none came on that night. He received neither news-
papers, letters, nor money. The Tunnel was a communi-
cation between the Foreign and the Inland-office. The
letters came in a box, which is worked through by machinery.
Cross-examined by Mr. BODKIN—Had been two years
and a half at that particular duty. Never knew of letters
being brought through from the one office to the other by
any other means of communication. He was stationed at
the tunnel, and would know of any other means if there
were. He took no notice of the dates on the stamp of the
letters, and did not know whether the letters had been one
or two days in the Foreign-office. A letter might have
been forgotton one day and sent the next.
George Leadbitter examined by the SOLICITOR-GENE-
RAL—Was at the Post-office on the sth of March last. He
took the prisoner into custody on that day in the Solicitor's
office- at the Post-office. He searched him, and found
some keys, letters, and papers upon him, which he marked
and gave to the solicitor. He took him down into the
Foreign-office. The prisoner said be had some letters and
papers in his drawer, which he would give to witness. In
the drawer were a number of papers and letters—those
produced were those which were in the drawer.

The papers and letters were put in and read. They were
all addressed to parties abroad.
On the Monday the prisoner asked the witness whether
he had ever known the Post-Office allow any one to resign,
under such circumstances. Witness said no—never, after
they had charged an offence against any one. He then
wanted to know what the punishment was, for such an
offence as the one be was accused of.

The witness was under cross-examination, when our Re-
porter left.

We trust some arrangement will be made to prevent
the inconvenience to which the Reporters are subjected
by the impertinent conduct of the Police Constable, No. 7,
in refusing them permission to pass from one Court to
the other.

SHIPPING.-(THIS DAY.)
(FROM LLOYD'S.)
DEAL, AFTUL 8. —Wind S.W.—Arrived the Jane, Goldie,
from Singapore; Fair Arcadian, Rogers, from Honduras;
Black Nymph, .___, from Africa; and Mozambique, Criux,
from St. John's, New Brunswick. Arrived from the River,
the Pegasus, Hamlet, for Sydney, and remains with the rest
of the outward-bound.

PORTSMOUTH, APRIL B.—Wind S. S. W. to W. S. \V.—Ar-
rived his Majesty's ship, Beacon, from the Mediterranean ;
and Hope, Wyatt, from Lisbon.
PLYMOUTH, APRIL 7.—Wind W. N. W.
FALMOUTH, APRIL 7.—Wind N. N. W. to W.—Arrived the
Delight Packet, from Halifax—sailed the 20th ult. ; and Li-
verpool (steamer), from Gibraltar—left the 23d ult., Cadiz
the 27th, Lisbon the Ist instant, and Oporto the 3d. Sailed
the Seagull Packet, for Lisbon.
MARGATE, APRIL 6.—Arrived off port the Ann, Burgess,
from Tobago; and Blumsett, Vallermo, from River Gambia.
DOVER, APRIL B.—Arrived off port the Barrette, Junior,
Saunders, from Calcutta.

COWES, APRIL B.—Arrived the Rossendale, Trenk, Canton.
LIVERPOOL, APRIL 7.—Arrived the Nina Louisa, Lord,
from Valparaiso; Constellation, Sampson, from New Orleans;
Bispharn, James, from Messina ; Flora, Armstrong, from Pa-
lermo ; and the Harwood, Macgowan, from Smyrna. Off port
the Lawrence, —, from Calcutta ; Ganges, —, from
Maranham ; Hannah, —, from Mobile; Brothers, --
from Savannah ; Elizabeth, —, St. John's, New Brunswick'

•
The Danube, from New York, was burnt at Valparaiso on
the 6th of January,
The New Thomas, Comely, from the Matanzas, has been
assisted into Amrum, with loss of anchors and chains, and must
discharge, bound to Hamburgh.
The Thomas and Ann, Stephens, was wrecked, on the Ist
inst., on the coast of Pillau.
The Ragnkild, Vyempef, from Christiansand to Rochelle
was wrecked at North Uist on the 20th ult.

SPLENDID BALL.--00 Monday evening the
Dragoon-
cers of the Fifth Guards, at present bstationed at
Piershil, gave a splendid ball in the George-street Assembly
Rooms, Edinburgh, to their Colonel, Sir Maxwell Wallace,
(brother of the Member for Greenock). Invitations were is-
sued to almost every family of rank and distinction in Scotland,
and a great number arrived in town purposely to be present.
The company began to assemble about half-past nine o'clock,
and the dancing commenced at ten. The ball room presented
a brilliant and animated scene, between five and six hundred
ladies and gentlemen being present. The orchestra was occu-
pied by Spindler's band; and, in the centre of the room, a
temporary orchestra was erected, in which the regimental band
was stationed, and played several fine airs throughout the even-
ing. A siperb supper was also provided in the refreshment
room by the messman of the regiment, to which the company
repaired in three courses. The lobby was tastefully decorated
with evergreens, and the banners of the regiment. One of
these excited much interest, having been presented to the re-
giment in 1712, and having been borne before it in all its ser-
vice since that period. Over this banner a guard of honour
was placed, consisting of the finest looking men in the regiment,
which considerably heightened the effect. The dancing was
kept up with great spirit till a late hour on Tuesday morning.
We are assured on the authority of persons who
profess to know the working of the New Poor Law in Suffolk,
that " 150 out of 280,000/. per annum will be saved, and the
deserving poor be far better off."