The Sun.
London, England, 1847-09-13 00:00:00

LONDON, MONDAY

EVENING, SEPTEMBER 13, 1847.

LAW INTELLIGENCE.

CLERKENWELL COUNTY COURT, Sept. 1

BANK V. GREGORY.

Mr. WAKELING, solicitor, of St. John's-square,
stated that this action was brought to recover the
sum of 51. 10s. for a suit of clothes, and he called the
plaintiff, who swore to the debt.
The JUDGE asked the defendant if he denied the
debt ? Defendant—Oh, certainly.
Mr. WAKELING—WiII you swear that you do not
owe the money ? Defendant—Why, yes.
Mr. WAKELING—Then let him be sworn.
The clerk placed the Testament in his hands, and
the oath having been tendered, the Learned Gentle-
man for the plaintiff cautioned him upon the solemn
obligation.

WAKELING now again asked him if he would
swear that the claim mentioned was not due from him
to his client.

Defendant—Perhaps not exactly; there may be
some slight mistake.

Mr. WAKELING-OUt with it. If you do not I
must.

Defendant—But I do not like to expose a lady.
Mr. WimELING—Come, come, none of your false
delicacy here. Why do you not pay my unfortunate
client ? Defendant—Why the fact is that I did once;
yes, once visit the plaintiff's daughter; I consider he
made me a present of the clothes. That is all, my
Lord.

Mr. WAKELING—Did you not order them as your
wedding suit ? Defendant—There was positively
something said about a wedding.—(Laughter.)
Mr. WAKELING—Had you not promised marriage
to plaintiff's daughter ? Defendant—Not quite that.
She promised me marriage when I liked, but I was
not in the humour, and when a suit of clothes are
offered they are not likely to be refused—that's all I
have to say.—(Roars of laughter.)
Mr. WAKELING—Have you married her? De-
fendant—Oh, yes.
Mr. WAKELING—What ! Do you mean to swear
that you are married to Mr. Bank's daughter ? De-
fendant—No, it's not her ; it is another lady.
Mr. WAKELING—And if I mistake not you had the
clothes in question on at that marriage? Defendant—
There can be no mistake about that.

The JUDGE here cut short the matter, &rid signed
judgment for debt and costs.

Mr. SITAKELING —And I promise he shall have ano.
ther action for breach of promise of marriage.
Defendant—Oh, very well.

POLICE INTELLIGENCE.
MANSION-HOUSE.

On Saturday Samuel Rees and a young man whose
name it is not at present considered proper to mention
were brought before the Lord Mayor, charged with
having fraudulently obtained goods from Messrs.
Smith, Beard, and Co., of No. 111, Cheapside, to the
value of 561. 83.
Mr. Humphreys appeared for the prosecution, and
stated the nature of the ingenious course adopted by
Rees, a very young man, to obtain the goods, and
the active manner in which the prosecutors proceeded
upon finding that they were " done" to procure res-
titution.
Mr. J. E. Smith, of the house of Smith, Beard,
and Co., warehousemen, said—We have as a customer
Mr. Evan Rees, of Dudley, to whom we have fre-
quently sold goods. That gentleman is the brother
of the prisoner Samuel Rees. On Wednesday last
the prisoner Rees called on me at my warehouse,
and, after shaking hands with me, said, " Has my
brother been here ?" I said, " No. Did you ex-
pect him ?" " Yes," replied he, " I received a
letter from him this morning, stating that he
would be here. We require a few silk goods,
which I shall go on looking at." I then took him
to the silk warehouse, and selected scarfs and other
goods to the amount of 561. Bs., as specified in the
invoice I hand in. He at first said that some of the
things appeared to be too expensive, and that they
were to be laid aside until his brother should arrive,
and to be shown to him, and he asked me if I would
allow him to take them and to return them if they
should not be approved of. I said, "No—you
must either take them or not." After having occu-
pied some time in considering, he said he would take
them, and he gave me an additional order, to which
he was so call my attention upon his return home to
Dudley. He told me to send the goods to London-
wall, to the warehouse of Mr. Venables, to be packed
with some other articles which were about to be sent
off. The whole of the conduct of the young man was
such as was calculated to smother suspicion, and the
goods were sent according to the direction. I, how-
ever, according to the practice of the house, instead of
sending the invoice with the goods, transmitted it to
Mr. Evan Rees, of Dudley, who, upon receiving it,
came off to London, and stated to U 3 that he had never
given any order for the goods, and that he knew
nothing whatever of the transaction. I instantly
proceeded to make every inquiry upon the subject,
and traced Rees, the prisoner, from place to place
until I ascertained that he was travelling on the
Great Western Railway in company with another
young man.
Mr. T. Smith (also of the firm of Smith, Beard, and
Co.) said—ln consequence of a communication which
I had with my brother I went down to Bristol, and I
traced Rees (the prisoner) and his companion to the
Hot Wells, where I found in their lodging all the
goods, with a few exceptions. I had been in the
lodging for some time before they came in, and I had
fixed an officer outside to watch. At length, after a
delay of about an hour and a half, they both came in
with caps upon, them. I had seen Rees with my bro-
ther in the warehouse when he was selecting the
goods, and knew him, and I asked him whether he
knew me; without hearing his answer, I said to him,
" My name is Smith, I live in Cheapside, and you
must consider yourself my prisoner." A number of
duplicates of new goods were found upon both pri-
soners, together with various papers, and round the
neck of the second prisoner was tied one of the silk
handkerchiefs supplied to the imagined order of the
house at Dudley. The second prisoner made a very
long statement to me, in which he utterly denied any
knowledge of the fact that the goods had been impro-
perly obtained, and said that the prisoner Rees had
induced him, by a representation that they were got
from the. Bankruptcy Court, and that he was bound
down by the parties to whom they belonged not to
disclose whoSe they were; that Rees proposed to and
prevailed upon him to go through Wales with him to
dispose of the property, and that they were just about
to commence operations when the exposure took place.
The second prisoner here repeated the assurances of
his innocence.

There are other cases against Rees, who, although
very young, had robbed his brother of money to the
amount of 150/.
The prisoners were remanded, but bail was ordered
to be taken for the appearance of the second prisoner.
John Coggs, alias O'Connor, was charged• by a
young maned Brailey with having .extorted money
by threats of an atrocious kind.
The prosecutor had a few, days ago been in the
neighbourhood of Charing-cross, when he was sud-
denly addressed by the prisoner, who said to him,
" Halloo, old fellow, how are you? How is George ?"?
Having a brother of the name of Georgea, the prose-
cutor thought the prisoner meant him; And answered
the kind question in a similar spirit, whereupon the
prisoner said, " Will you give us a drop of some..
thing ?" Convinced that there could be no mistake,
the prosecutor accompanied the prisoner to a public-
house and paid for ruin for both. of them, and after-
wards for gin and water and cigars. When the time
arrived, however, for going home, the prisoner showed
his real character by threatening tosbring the most
revolting accusations against him. The dread efdisgrace
iniuced the prosecutor to.give money to the prisoner,
who, as might be supposed, calculated upon keeping
his victim under contribution. Next morning the
prisoner, who had watched the prosecutor from the
house at which the latter was employed,, -Walked up
to him and asked him for is. 6d., at the same time
'fissuring him that no further demand should be made
upon his purses A policeman, however, heard the
prisoner speak, and the pro'secutor instantly gave the
miscreant into custody. The prisoner told the police-
man that the prosecutor had borrowed 10s. of him,
and that the latter, had refused to pay the debt, which
led to the difference between them, and he besought
the prosecutor noVto give him into custody, but to
shake hands, and be should never give any further
trouble.
The policeman's 4ndence fully supported the pro-
secutor's statment.
The LORD Mayo much approved of the conduct
of the prosecutor in giving the prisoner into custody,
and said that the judges took good care that persons
Convicted of such offences as that with which the pri-
soner was charged should never have an opportunity
of making similar accusations.
•The prisoner said he had lent the prosecutor 103.,
and all he wanted was to have the money back.
GUILDHALL.
On Saturday Mr. Alderman Moon and Mr. Alder-
man Sidney were engaged for three hours in hearing
a charge of pirating a registered design. The infor-
mation charged Mr. Spurway, a house decorator in
Bishopsgate-street, with having, on the 27th of
August last, sold a piece of splashed granite paper-
hanging, being a fraudulent imitation of a new and
original design for a splashed granite pal.)er, regis-
tered on the 20th of November, 1846, by Mr. William
Gibbs, of 149, St. Mary-axe, a manufacturer of paper-
hanging.
Mr. Clarkson addressed the magistrates on behalf of
the complainant, who was injured by thckiferendant
not only pirating his pattern, but selling itjat is lower
price, He explained the provisions of theXci.pyright
of Designs Act, 6th of Victoria, cap. 100: • One of the
elasses of manufactures which might be registered was
paper-hangings, and a copyright was given for three
years to the inventor of a now 'pattern. Notice had
been given to the defendant :-that Mr. Gibbs
did not consent to the aPplicition of his re-
gistered design by defendant, to, which he j'eplied,',