The Sun.
London, England, 1847-12-02 00:00:00

CENTRAL CRIMINAL COURT.

OLD COURT.

(Before the REcoRDER and Mr. Alderman H114r1E9.)
TILE CASE OF GARDNER AND HOLLIDAY.—Henry
Gardner, aged 31, Thomas Holliday, aged 25, described
in the calendar as merchants, were indicted, with two
other persons named Loup and Seager, with conspiring
to defraud several persons of a great quantity of cordage
and other property.
Mr. 13odki* and Mr. Huddlestone conducted the pro-
secution. Mr. Prendergast and Mr. Robinson appeared
for Gardner and Holliday. Mr. Clarkson defended
Loup, and Mr. Ballantine was the counsel for Seeger.
Gardner and Holliday pleaded Guilty. The two other
prisoners, who had been at large upon bail, pleaded Not
Guilty.

Mr: BODKIN having stated at some length the cir•
cuinstances of the case, the following evidence was
adduced:—

Mr. Samuel Benson, a jeweller on Ludgate-hill, was
the first witness. He said that on the 7th of January
the prisoners Gardner and Holliday came to his shop,
and Holliday wished to look at a cruet and liquor-frame
as he had had a commission from Hawburgh, and they
were to be sent to Theberton-street, Islington, to be en-
closed with other goods. He selected two articles worth
9/. 155., and the prisoners—conferred together. Holliday
gave him a card, on which was inscribed, " Thomas j

Holliday and Co., commission agents, 6, Pinners'•hall;"
and witness sent the goods as directed. The next day
Holliday came alone, and said he had another commis-
sion, for a gold watch and chain, and he said the gen-
tleman who was with him the day before was a member
of one of the wealthiest firms on the continent, and
the watch was for that firm. Holliday showed a
card of Schalkheuser and Co., 38, Moorgate-street,
and he said that firm owed him a great deal of money,
and if witness would let him have the watch and
chaia he would get a bill from them and pay him the
whole amount. Witness told him ho must make in-
quiries, end upon his doing so he found it would not
answer, as he was informed they were all swindlers, and
he declined to let Holliday have the watch and chain,
and when he sent his bill for the other articles to Pin-
ners'-hall and Theberton-street, he found they were gone
from both places. Some time after this, in consequence
of something he read in the newspapers, he went to
Giltspur-street prison, and recognised the prisoners
Gardner and Holliday as the persons who had defrauded
him of his property, and he subsequently saw the cruet
and liquor-frame produced by a pawnbroker.
Cross-examined —lfellistay appeared to consult Gard-
ner as to whether the articles he selected werecalculuted
for the purpose for which they required them. Witness
was formerly in the service of Messrs. Jones, in Cheap-
side, and when he set up in business he might have sent
round circulars to all his late employers' customers. It
was possible that he sent a circular to Holliday, but he
did not recollect the fact. Holliday made a purchase
at Messrs. Jones's, and he heard him say that he could
do a good business in the export trade if it was made
worth his while.
Mr. Charles Reed, a pawnbroker, in Chapel-street,
City-road, proved that, on the 19th of January, the pri-
soner Helliday pawned the two liquor-frames, in the
name of Smith, for 41. 10s.
Ebenezer Kibblewhite, police constable, proved that
he searched a lodging occupied by Gardner, in Charlton-
street, Woolwich, and he there found the duplicates
for the articles which were given to him by the last
witness.
Cross-examined—He did not know where Mr. Cuis-
sell was. He should be glad to know.—(A. laugh.)
He searched Gardner's lodgings without having a war-
rant, and he took away a number of papers, love-
lc tters, &c. He thought they might lead to some-
thing.—( Laughter.)
Maria Youngs proved that Gardner occupied a back
bedroom in her house, for which he paid ss. a week, and
at the time time of the transaction with Mr. Benson he
owed her 81.
Evidence was then given to show that Holliday and
Schalkhr user engaged the chambers in Pinners'-hall,
and cards were issued with " Holliday and Co." upon
them. They were to psy 401. a-year, but decamped
without paying any rent at all, and after they were gone
it appeared that a good many people came to make in-
quiries about them.
Mr. John Taylor, a furniture dealer at Islington, de-
posed that in December last Holliday and a foreign
gentleman called upon him, and ordered furniture to the
amount of 901., which was to be sent to Theberton-
street. The goods were sent to the direction given, and
he afterwards saw Holliday and the same foreign gen-
tleman at the counting-house in Pinners' Hall, and, in
consequence of some information he afterwards re-
ceived, he determined to get back his property, and he
subsequently did so.
Mr. PRENDERGAST, at this stage of the case, addressed
the Court, and said that on the part of Holliday- he felt
he could not resist those counts of the indictment charg-
ing the conspiracy; and
Mr. ROBINSON said that he must take the same
coarse with regard to Gardner, as he felt ho could not
resist the evidence against him.
Mr. BODKIN said that as this was the case ho should
not offer any evidence upon the counts charging the
obtaining of goods by false pretences, and he should
now proceed to connect the other defendants with the
transaction.
Mr. H. T. Grey proved that by the orders of Holliday
and Gardner he sent rope to the value of 911. to the
Custom-house-quay marked as for shipping, and accord-
ing to their representations it was to be sent to the Cal e
of Good Hope. The goods were to be paid for in three
months, or before that period if a certain vessel should
arrive in England. He gave the prisoner Seeger, who
acted as Gardner and Ilolliday's clerk, the invoice and
the shipping order for the goods. There was a second
transaction for rope, and the invoice and the shipping
order were again given to Seeger, and when he inquired
for Gardner and Holliday he was told that they had
gone to the docks upon the subject of a dispute about
some goods, but he added that all his cordage had been
shipped.
By Mr. BALLANTINE.—The counting-house in Pan-
eras-lane presented all the appearance of bond fide busi-
ness being carried on, and he saw nothing to create any
suspicion. He had had a transaction in business with
Holliday before, and he was paid the amount of his bill,
and at that time he considered him a respectable man,
and should have spoken of him as such if he had been
referred to. A bill of exchange was given for the
amount of his bill, but he caused Gardner and Holliday
to be apprehended before it arrived at maturity.
Evidence was then given that the packages of rope
were delivered at the Custom-house Wharf as for ship-
ping, and a few days afterwards an order was received
for their removal, and they were taken to the Kent and
Essex Wharf, Bankside, by order of the prisoner Sea-
ger, who went in the lighter with the goods, and repre-
sented them as his property, and signed the wharf-book
in the capacity of their owner. They were taken away
from this wharf two days afterwards by a carman, ac-
companied by Seager, and as they were going along he
tore off the wrappers and shipping marks from the
packages. It appeared that the rope was then taken to
Mr Booth's, an auctioneer, in Budge-row.
Mr. Booth deposed that on the 14th of June the rope
in question was brought to his premises by the prisoner
Seeger, and he wished to know if they would advance
any money upon it. Witness told him they would if it
was intended for public suction. Seager then rep- e-
sentecl himself as a dealer in such goods as were sold at
his public sales, and he signed the book is the name
of Joseph Seager, and received* an advance of 211
upon the goods, and ho gave his address in Triangle-
row, Camberwell. He said that the rope had cost
him 465. a cwt., and witness agreed to advance him 30s.
pet cwt., and the agreement was that the rope was to be
sold in seven days to repay the advance and commission,
if the money was not return( d before that time. The
rope was advertised for sale on a subsequent day, and
the evening before the day appointed Seager called upon
him, and asked him to sell the rope, as he could get
more money for it than it would fetch by auction, and
he agreed to pass the rope at the sale if three sovereigns
were given to him, and eventually the rope, was not
offered for sale, and still remained in his pos-ession.
By Mr. BALLANTINE—A man named Rodell was
present when ieager came. He had known him 24 years,
but he could not say whether he was a respectable man
or not. He believed that Rodell first applied to him to
know whether he would advance money upon the rope.
The application was made in the first instance to his son,
and Rodell afterwards introduced Seager as the owner of
the rope ; and he believed he corroborated his statement
that the rope had originally cost 465. per cwt. He did
not think he had heard anything of Gardner or Holli-
day until the 3d of August. On that day he saw Holli-
day, but at that time nothing was said about the rope,
the object of Holliday then being to know whether they
would advance 1001. upon some carpenters' tools. He
subsequently did advance 401. upon a quantity of tools.
By Mr. BODKlN—Miring the whole of these transac-
tions with Seager about the rope, not a word was said
about any other person thanhinaself having any property
in it.

By the RECORDER -•-• When Holiday came to the
warehouse the rope was lying there before him, and he
made no allusion whatever respecting it.
Evidence was next adduced to show, with regard to
another portion of the rope obtained from Mr. Grey,
that it was handed over to the order of Cuissell and Co.,
who represented themselves as mercantile agents, and
had a counting house in Lime-street, to whom it had
been transferred by Holliday and Co., and that a receipt
was given for it in the name of the prisoner Loup.
Another case of obtaining goods was then gone into.
It appeared that Gardner and Holliday purchased a
large qu entity of tools from Mr Bond, a tool manu-
facturer in King David-lane, under the pretence that
they were to be shipped, and the understanding was
that rerely money was to be paid for them. The
tools were sent to the Custom-house Wharf, and were
afterwards removed thence and came into the possession
of Cuissell and Co., Lime-street, where they had an
office. In consequence of something that afterwards
transpired it appeared that Mr. Bond was determined
to have his goods back, and after some negotiation with
Cuissell and the other parties, the prisoner Loup said
that he had advanced 211. upon the property, and he
had no objection to give it up if that sum were repaid
him. It was then stated that it had been ascertained,
although the goods had been obtained under a pretence
that they were to be shipped, that they had been offered
to different parties for sale for anything that could be
obtained f,r them, and unless they were given up the
parties would be immediately taken before the Lord
Mayor ; upon this they consented that the whole of the
tools should be given up, and Mr. Bond afterwards ob-
tained possession of them upon an order given by the
prisoner Seager. It appeared that the tools had in the
meantime been pawned with Mr. Booth for 401., and,
on his giving notice of his intention to sell them by
auction, Holliday and Cuissell came to him, and repaid
him the money, with 2/. for warehouse-room, and they
took the tools away, saying that they could get a better
price for them than if they were sold by auction ; and
after this Loup offered them for sale to diGrent per-
sons, and, on his being asked on one occasion how he
came to have the tools in his possession, he declined to
give any answer.
The next ease of fraud gone into was that upon Messrs,
Routledge and Co., glove importers, Addle-street. It
appeared that Holliday purchased 321. worth of gloves
of this firm, and afterwards, in consequence of some
communication he received from Messrs. Leaf and Co.,
he went to the counting-house in Pancras-lane, and saw
Gardner, Holliday, and Seager, when he asked for his
money, and they promised to pay him in a few days, but
he never received it. The gloves, it appeared, were sold to
Messrs. L •af, Barnett, and Co., at a reduction of twenty-
five per c-nt. upon their original price, by Cuissell, and
in consequence of something that afterwards transpired,
these gentlemen, it appeared, afterwards made a com-
munication to Messrs. Routledge and Co. upon the sub-
ject of the sale.

- Mr. Grey was here recalled, and said that upon ap-
plying to Holliday for his money ho told him that his
partner G ardner was at Keswlck, with 8001. in his pocket,
to buy a ship. He subsequently went to a public-house,
in company with some other persons, and saw Holliday
and Cuisscil there, and on his asking the former if he
knew Cuissell, he replied that he did not, and Cuissell
then went away. When he was gone, Holliday said that
Cuissell and Gardner were the rogues, and that he was
the dupe. Gardner came in shortly afterwards, and he
was given into custody.