The Sun.
London, England, 1849-02-13 00:00:00

SOUTHWARK.

A man named Cooper was brought before Mr. Cot-
tingham for fraudulently obtaining money of suitors of
the Southwark County Court.
Mr. King, a farmer, stated, that he was sued in the
above court for 31. 13s. 6d., and went there for the pur-
pose of paying the money. When he got to the entrance
of the court he was accosted by the prisoner, who asked
him if he wanted a summons. The reply was in the ne-
gative, witness saying that he came there to pay money;
upon which the prisoner said that he would receive the
debt, and give him a receipt for the money. Com-
plainant, under the impression that the prisoner was an
officer of the court, handed him the summons, and then
paid him over the debt and costs; and having had a
receipt given him for the money departed. Some weeks
afterwards an officer of the above court surprised
complainant by a call at his residence in the coun-
try; and having signified the business upon which
he had come, added that it was for the purpose of levy-
ing a distress for the debt and costs incurred in an ac-
tion in which he was defendant. The complainant men-
tioned the fact of his having previously paid the money
into court; and when he described the circumstance re-
lating to the transaction with the prisoner, the officer at
once said that that person was not at all connected with
the court, but was known as a man who was in the habit
of hanging about the entrance thereto. The complainant
added, that upon this explanation being given to him he
paid the money over again, to save his goods from sei-
zure, and had not seen the prisoner since until that day
at the bar of the court.

Mr. Meymott, the chief clerk of the County Court,
explained that agents were not employed to receive
moneys of suitors, and that a clerk whose desk was in
the Court was appointed for that purpose. Ile added,
that he had seen the prisoner about the Court on various
occasions.

Mr. H . C. Knell, a timber merchant, was next examined,
and stated, that being defendant in a cause heard at the
same court, the prisoner called upon him, and repre-
senting that he had come from the above court for the
debt and expenses, amounting to 1/. 11s. 6d., that sum
was given to him and he gave a receipt for the same.
Witness was subsequently sued for the sum, which he
had to pay over again, it being ascertained that the pri-
soner had no connexion whatever with the court.
M. COTTINGRAM said, that this case differed from the
former, inasmuch as the prisoner in this instance had
used ufalse pretence in obtaining the money by repre-
senting that he had called from the County Court for
the debt and costs. It was of the utmost public import-
ance that such conduct as that alleged against the pri-
soner should be suppressed. He should certainly commit
the prisoner on the latter charge, and as it was men-
, tioned that other cases of a similar description were likely
to be preferred against him, he should remand him for
further examination until Wednesday.

THE MURDER AT DALE-GATE.
Piccomu, FEB. 12.—At one o'clock to-day S. IL
Gell, Esq., Coroner for East Susses, arrived from Lewes,
for the purpose of resuming the inquest on the body of
Mr_ George Stonhouse Griffith, the brewer, of Brighton,
an account of whose murder, on Tuesday night, has al-
ready appeared in our columns.
Evidence having been called as to the discovery of
the body, • and in which nothing was elicited beyond
what bas already appeared, the various articles found
on or near deceased were produced. They consisted of
a broken whip, several coins, and other articles, a pair of
pistols, one loaded and the other discharged, a crape
mask on a spectacle frame, fragments of a set of reins, &c.
Mr. Martin, clerk to deceased, was then called, and
after some preliminary evidence,
A juror asked him—Do you know whether Mr. Grif-
fith land bullets of two different sizes?-one for the small
pistols; the large for the revolving pistol.
Waa the bullet taken from the body of deceased of the
same size as the revolving bullets?—lt was a medium
size, between the bullets for the small, and the bullets for
the le.rge pistol.
_ _

Did Mr. Griffith take the revolving pistol with himl—
He took it from the counting-house.
Mkl. Clarke—lt has since been found at his house,.
Captain Mackay—l now propose to draw the charge
of the leaded pistol.
This was done. There was a small charge of powder
and the bullet was of the same size as the three found in
the pockets of the deceased, but much smaller than the
twel re found in the flask. The second pistol was like-
wise produced.
_

Captain Mackay—ls there any appearance of this pis-
tol h aving been discharged recently ?—No; and there is
a piece of " fluff," a• if from the pistol bag. If the pistol
had been discharged these appearances would not pre-
sent themselves. Thero is no mark of that kind of dirt,
wbi ch arises from a pistolbeing fired. The inside of the
barrel is clean. All these appearances are seen in both
pistols (tbe one found near the body of deceased, and
that found loaded in his pocket.)
The witness named some other minute particulars,
tend ing: to show that neither of the pistols had been re-
cently fired.

Clarke—l should also like to have the third bullet
produced and compared.
inspector Flanagan, of the constabulary, accordingly
produced the bullet extracted from the body of deceased.
The three bullets were of different sizes.
Fl anagan pointed out that the last bullet was not a
mouliled bullet, and that it bore marks of corrosion, as
if it had been a considerable time in the ground before
bein g recently used. He knew that it was the same bul-
let I vecause he was present at the post mortem examina-
tion, and saw the bullet taken out of the heart of the
dece ssed, and he had had it in his pocket ever since.
Wituiess also produced some fragments of paper which
appeared to have been used as the wadding. I have
sepal .ated them carefully, and examined them by a pow-
erful microscope; but all that I can discover is either
the 1 etter "w" or " ill." I also produce a splinter of
the breast bone of deceased, taken in my presence from
the II pot where the bullet entered the breast of deceased.

Th e three bullets were then weighed. That taken
from the body weighed 102 grains; one of the three
found in the pocket weighed 160 grains; the third,
found_ in the flask, weighed 81 grains, apothecaries'
weight.
Ma rig Ansell, wife of George Ansell, landlord of the
Hors(? and Groom Inn, Horsham, deposed—l have
knows Mr. Griffiths four years. Last Tuesday he came
to th e house. I shook hands with him, and said, " It's
very late, which way are you going home?" He said,
"By way of West Grinstead." I said., "Dear me, are
you? It will be dusk before you get there, and there
have 'been so many robberies of late in West Grinstead
and Shipley, that people burn lights all night" He re-
plied that he had been out all hours of the night, and
he had never hurt any one, nor had any one hurt him.
He then took out of his pocket a rod bag containing
pistoils. I had never seen a pistol before. I asked him
it it wits a pistol, and he said yes. He then took some-
thing; out of his pocket and unscrewed the pistol.
He also took out the flask produced, and put a round ball
in, said screwed it up again. He then put some powder
into a place that ho opened near the trigger part. He
then put the pistol into the red bag, and as he was pull-
ing the string it broke. He 'then placed the loaded
pistol into the right hand great-coat pocket, after which
he took another bag containing a pistol. Mr. Howell, a
shoem al:er, who was there at the time, asked him if that
was loaded? He replied, " No. I'll warrant the other
will be enough for one man. I shall not give up my
money easily."
A j,aror—Did be place the loaded pistol in his
pocket again?—Yes. The other he did not take out of
the ba,
Con orrun—Was there enough for you to show that it
was a • pistol?—Ho said it was like the other. I saw the
end of it.
A juror—Did you pay him any money ?—NO. He
was very cheerful, and said he had come to Grinstead,
and thought we should be offended if he did n?: %riy,rne-
San th Ann Smokey, schoolmistress at N w
stated that on the evening of Tuesday
M e
last, about twenty
minut es past nine o'clock, she heard a report of a gun or
pistol, which appeared to come in the directie
with thon of r.
Manui nigton's premises, which were in a lin
West- road.
The• jury then deliberated, a short time, after which
they ivturned a verdict of Wilful murder against some
persor is unknown."
The readers of the she 4) statement will perceive that
a gre at.portion th
-examination has been directed
ofe
sgabast
suggestionthe possibility of the case being
one 9f ottigide, which bad grown into a rumour, and was