The Sun.
London, England, 1849-10-18 00:00:00

a coat with her to take care of. He called for it two
days afterwards. Hanbury brought a basket with
him, with a carpenter's saw in it. The prisoner
Barton was dressed in a light blouse. They some•
times brought a bag.
Richard Leland, of 8, Bridg water-street, Somers-
town, optician, said he knew both prisoners, but
Barton more intimately than Hanbury. Had seen
them at a public-house kept by Mr. Jackson, of
Somers-town. Witness recollected that the day after
the report of the robberies on the Great Western
Railway Company he saw the prisoner Barton at Mr.
Jackson's, and heard him say repeatedly they had got
the parcels safe enough, and that Mr. Collard, the
superintendent, had offered him money for the restora-
tion of the parcels, which he refused, as it was not
enough for him. He also said that Mr. Dawson had
offered him money for them, but he refused him, say-
ing there was 30a. due on the last account between
him and Dawson. He said he had told Messrs.
Chaplin and Horne if they hurt his boy he would
hurt them. These expressions, witness said, were
uttered at various times.
At this period of the examination one of Barton's
sons, about fourteen or fifteen years of age, entered
the court with a basket containing some refreshments
for his father, when the boy took his position behind
the dock. Barton, who is a tall, powerful-looking
man, stooped over the bar, and spoke to the boy, when
Sergeant Smith listened to their discourse.
Barton, evidently amazed, and with violence, said,
"Your Worship, I was speaking to my boy and in-
quiring after my wife, when that dog poked his nose
in and interfered with us." He looked revengefully
at Smith, and commenced munching a large piece of
bread and butter.
The witness continued —Two young men
were with the prisoners in the parlour at
the time. Hanbury was reading the news •
paper, and Barton was sitting between the two
young men, and some of their conversation was in
whispers. Barton said he had been at a certain place
at six o'clock in the morning, before the public-
houses were open, but it was too early for the job
to be done that morning, and it must be put off. lie
said while he was talking up came the van with the
parcels. Their conversation was generally about
parcels.
Mr. Humphries said that these conversations re•
ferred to their watching the van's arrival at Brown-
low-street, Holborn, where Messrs. Chaplin and
Horne's porter left with the parcels to deliver at
various places.
Mr. Joseph Collard, superintendent to the Great
Western Railway Company, having been sworn,
Mr. Humphries inquired of him whether he had
seen or had any intercourse with the prisoner Barton
is reference to the present charge until he was taken
into custody ? Mr. Collard—l never had any com-
munication with the prisoner until I took him into
custody on the present charge.
Mr. Humphries—Did you ever offer the prisoner
any money for the recovery of the stolen parcels ?
Mr. Collard—l had no oppportunity of offering him
any money, and of course I did not.
Mr. Humphries—I believe you were present when
the prisoner Hanbury's room was searched ?
Witness replied in the affirmative. On the 10th of
October he went, in company of Sergeant Smith, to
Hanbury's lodgings, in Hart-street, Covent-garden,
where he saw Smith take the letter stamp (now pro-
duced) from a writing-desk in the room. At the
station-house a receipt (produced) was taken from
the prisoner's person ; a seal was also found. On
Tuesday witness and Smith examined a large quan-
tity of papers which they found in the desk before
mentioned, when witness discovered the piece of
sealing wax was joined, and which he now produced ;
also a bill of exchange, purporting to have been drawn
by Edward Barton on W. B. Popham, of Lincoln's
Inn-fields. Witness heard the prisoner called
Edward Barton, and believed that to be his real
Christian name. Witness also foundia new spectacle-
case in the desk, containing the half of a 51. Bank of
England note, No. 83,582, and dated April 18, 1842.
Hanbury's lodging and the nine parcels were in a
most filthy condition.
Samuel Walker, lodge-keeper at Lincoln's Inn-gate,
knew the prisoner Barton. On the morning of the
27th of September, between eight and nine o'clock,
he saw the prisoner walking backwards and forwards
near the old gate in Chancery-lane. He seemed hur-
ried, and had on a white blouse. It was about 400
yards from the Hand-in-Hand public. house. He saw
him on two other mornings in the same week in
Chancery-lane, with the brown coat he now wore and
a white blouse underneath it; he was going towards
Carey-street.
Prisoner—Then you could see through my great
coat. You must have good eyesight.—(A laugh.)
The prisoner saw witness watching him, when he
put his thumb to his nose, as much as to say " Take
a sight."
Richard Leland recalled—The prisoner Barton,
when at the house of Mr. Jackson, pulled out several
51. notes and two sovereigns and a half, and said he
had put the " drawers " on one of the parcels. On
being asked what he meant by the " drawers," he
replied, " drawing on account."
Mr. Humphries said that this eompleted the case,
and there was sufficient to commit the prisoners for
trial as accessories before the fact, as having received
the property knowing it to have been stolen.
Mr. Pelham said he would reserve the prisoners'
defence for their trial.
Mr. TYRWHITT then fully committed both prisoners
to Newgate for trial, and the whole of the witnesses
were bound over to prosecute.
Mr. Humphries said, with respect to the parcels
which had been restored to Messrs. Chaplin and
Horne, he would suggest that their contents should
be allowed to be delivered over to the consignees, and
the wrappers to be produced for the purpose of iden-
tity at the trial, as the property might be of import-
ance to the parties concerned with them.
Mr. TYRWBITT acceded to this.
Barton' who treated the matter with indifference
and bravado requested an interview with his wife
and son, which was granted, but in the presence of
the officers.
The prisoners were conveyed to Newgate in the
police van in the course of the day.
Immediately after the committal of the prisoners,
Mr. Brenchley, the managing clerk to Messrs. Chap-
lin and Horne at the Paddington station of the Great
Western Railway, and Mr. Collard, police-officer of
that establishment, went off in a cab for the purpose
of delivering the parcels to the respective consignees,
and to ascertain that the contents were correct.
THAMES.
THE EXTENSIVE PLUNDER BY A CONFIDENTIAL
MANAGER AT MILL-WALL, POPLAR.—Joseph Hadley
Riddell and W. IV. Eclipse Riddell, the former con-
fidential manager and the latter a subordinate clerk
at the extensive chemical works of Messrs. Pontifex,
at Mill-wall, Poplar, were finally examined, charged
with pludering their employers to an immense extent.
Many of the facts have already been frequently before
the public.
The prisoner Joseph had the sole and uncontrolled
management of the concern at Mill-wall, with a
salary of 5001. a year ; but the business not answer-
ing the expectations, his salary was reduced to one
half. From that time, if not previously, an extensive
system :of plunder was commenced. Valuable por-
tions of Messrs. Pontifex's property were removed to
premises in the holding of the prisoners, but osten-
sibly in the possession of a person named Godwin,
at Lee Bridge. Messrs. Pontifex's men, whilst sup•
posed to be employed for that firm, were at work for
fifteen weeks embellishing and improving the hand-
some residence of the prisoners at Berner-street,
Greenwich, fitting up greenhouses, !garden frames,
&c., made out of their employers' materials. The
most glaring fraud in the whole transaction was an
occurrence which took place in July last. It being
understood that Mr. Jones, a clerk at Messrs. Ponti-
fex's City offices, Shoe-lane, was about to take stock at
Mill-wall, previously to his arrival 36 casks were filled
with an almost useless refuse called sulphate of lime,
and were represented to Mr. Jones as tartrate of lime,
thus fraudulently increasing the apparent stock to the
amount of 9001. The increase was at first stated at
1,3001. When Mr. Pontifex questioned Joseph Rid-
dell on this subject, he admitted that it was a gross
deception, but at the same time said it was the first he

had ever practised on the firm, though the other frauds
were as patent as day.
Both prisoners were fully committed.
Lewis Philips, a negro, who told a very cunning
story so simply that it was at first almost believed,
was charged with defrauding Jane Ryan, a coffte-
house -keeper, Ratcliffe-highway, in the following
artful manner :

He called at the house of the prosecutrix on Mon-
day night, and representing himself as a ship's cook,
asked for a bed. He said he had no money, but he
would leave one of his jackets. This being agreed to,
he told the landlady that the night before he picked
up with a girl, who stole 2/. from him—that he gave
her in charge, and was to call next day at the station-
house for his money. He had his supper and a bed,
and after breakfast next day went, as he said, to the
station house, stating on his return that he had got
the 21. In the evening he asked the prosecutrix to
lend him 10s. to take the servant girl to the theatre;
but she told him he must first hand her his purse,
which he did, and she then gave him 10s., and 2s. 6d.
for a cab. She opened the purse when he left, and
found, that instead of two sovereigns, it contained two
medals, one bearing the effigies of our Sovereign Lady
the Queen. On his return from the theatre, she gave

him into custody.
The prisoner, in his defence said, that the girl who
took his purse, when charged with the robbery,
threw it in his face, and it remained safe with the
constable when she was taken into custody ; that he
got it back again with the money safe at the station-
house, and that the prosecutrix must hive substituted
the medals.
Here Sergeant Sugg, 17 H, came forward, and
different
said that the prisoner had made quite a di