The Sun.
London, England, 1846-06-05 00:00:00

THE QUEEN V. RUSSELL.

This was a case in which the defendant was charged with
having kept a gaming house, and it was ordered to be tried
at the sessions ; but a rule had been obtained to enable the
defendant to show cau,e why the case should be moved, by
certiorari, to the Queen's Bench, and cause baying been
shown why the rule should be made absolute, Counsel for
the prosecution contended at great length that the rule
should be discharged.
The Court decided that the case should be sent back to
the session.

POLICE INTELLIGENCE.
MANSION-HO USE.

Alderman Gibbs was occupied during the greater part
of yesterday in an investigation which had been com-
menced on the preceding day, and which, from the na•
ture of the charge and the respectability of the party ac-
cut-ed, excited considerable interest.
Mr. Clarkson attended for the prosecution, and Mr.
Ballantine appeared for the defence.
Mr. Henry Sharpe, of the firm of Sharpe and Co., of
Paternoster-row, warehouseman, appeared voluntarily
before the Lord Mayor, under the circumstances de-
tailed in the following evidence:—
Mr. Benjamin Lewis, of the firm of Lewis and James,
Gutter-lane, Cheapside, linen and Manchester ware-
houseman, said—The defendant was in our service as a
traveller, and left us about the 18th of February last.
He was subject to a three months' notice, which was
given to him in December; but I paid him on the 18th
of February to the Ist of March, and discharged him.
A few days before the 28th of February we missed some
French cambric handkerchiefs and some P rench cambric.
We keep a book called the " Selling-book," in which
entries are made of the stock; and when goods are sold
they are entered in the waste-book, and from the waste-
book the selling-book is marked off, and, on missing one
of the articles—a piece of cambric—we took all our
stock over again, and then'wo found a deficiency, allow-
ing for that sold, of 16 dozen of 7s. French cambric
hankerchiefs, and four pieces of cambric, the amount of
which, together, would be 471. 19s. In consequence of
this deficiency I consulted Mr. Depree, my solicitor, and
John Forrester, the officer, and hearing that some cam-
brics answering the description of those we had lost
were in the possession of Mr. Sharpe, and I having sus-
pected him all along, I caused some steps to be taken;
and eventually some goods wore sent to our warehouse
by a Mr. George Hayter, which goods are now pro-
duced. We had on the Ist of January two pieces of
"demi" French cambric in stock, No. 28,286, marked
46 in our selling character. They are made originally
in fifteen yard lengths, and these are cut in
two and called " denies." We missed out of
our stock one of these "denies," the other remaining
in stock ; and one of the pieces produced by Mr.
Hayter corresponds in every particular with the piece I
have in stock, and I'll swear it once formed part of the
same piece. On comparing the two edges together,
where it has been originally torn in two, I found they
corresponded precisely. My reason for forming this
opinion is, that when there is a thick thread in one piece
there is a corresponding one in the other piece, and on
joinining the two edg. s together, they so exactly cor-
responded, that I will swear they once formed the same
piece of goods. The number has been evidently broken
out of the selvage of the cambric. It is not customary
to sell cambrics without a ticket ; and I believe the tear
on the selvage is where the ticket has been. The
dozen of cambric handkerchiefs produced is also part of
what Mr. Hayter sent to us. It has been
orignally made a double piece, and I produce from our
own stock the corresponding dozen, which has once
formed part of the same piece of cambric; and, on com-
paring it with a magnifying-glass, I find that all the
threads agree, and I have, therefore, no douht that it
once formed part of our stock. The number of this
article is 1,660, and we lost two dozen of that number ;
we had five in stock on the l st of January ; and I believe
the other piece produced is the fellow of No. 1,660, but
I cannot swear to it. Last Thursday I saw Mr. Snarpe
at my counting-house (in consequence of Forrester
having been to him.) I first said lam ready to hear
anything you have to say. He began by saying it was
a very unpleasant thing_ about these rambrics, or some-
thing to that effect. He then proceeded to state that he
purchased them of a Mr. St. Croix, a friend of Mr.
Besson, of Jersey, and introduced by Mr. Besson when
that gentleman was last in town, and that he bought them
at Kinner's Hotel, in Crown-court, Cheapside—(Mr.
Bisson wasa customer of our's, and therefore I knew
when he was in town), that St. Croix was a little French-
snan with a tuft under his chin. I think he
further said that it was a regular transaction.
He said he had an invoice of them made out in pencil,
and he invited me to come over to his counting-house
and he would show me the invoice in his bc,oks; and I
did go over, and saw his books, in which I saw what he
said was a copy of the invoice in his book; and I think
he added that it was in the handwriting of Mr. Murray;
and he looked in his desk for the invoice, but he said he
could not find it. I then came away, and went back
with Mr. Leary, and asked him if he could show me a
receipt for the money, but he could not; but he showed
me two entries. which he represented as payment to Mr.
St. Croix, but I did not understand them. He showed
me a margin number in the invoice-book, beginning at
251 to 357. He said he paid St. Croix 361. 175., less 10
per cent.; but I can't swear whether that entry related
to the 361. 175., but I saw 725. put down. The num-
bers the handkerchiefs bore were 349 to 353.
Cross-examined by Mr. Lloyd, the solicitor to the de-
fendant.—On the paper-wrapper of the cambrics, I find
numbers corresponding with the numbers in the invoice-
book. The prisoner did not deny that he had sold them
to Mr. Hayter. The other goods produced bore a simi-
lar character, but I cannot identify any except those two
pieces. He bought the cambric of Bertrand, of Cam-
bray, in France ; the handkerchiefs of Holland and Du-
bois, of Valenciennes. I cannot say when he bought
hem without referring to our books. I believe I saw
them 'ast in stock on the 31st of December. We had
ihen about 97 pieces of demi cambrics, and of full-
length cambrics about 200. I believe we have bought
more since of the same sort. I sent Mr. Snockhill to
purchase the goods of Mr. George Hayter. I don't
know a person named St. Croix.
Mr. George Hayter said he was a warehouseman, in
Bow-lane. In consequence of a request made to him, he
went to Mr. Sharpe's warehouse on Friday, the 22d of
May, and saw the goods now produced, and also Mr.
Sharpe, and asked him what the goods were. He replied
that they were some samples left for sale by a Mr. St.
Croix, and that they were 25 or 30 per cent. under the
regular price. Witness said that if they were so cheap
he could sell them, if he were allowed to take samples,
which was agreed to. He looked at a few, and they
appeared to be cheap ; and next day he called again,
and told Mr. Sharpe that he had a customer coming to
his warehouse to look at them, who would, if they were
as cheap as had been represented, buy them. Mr. Sharpe
then said they should be cheap, that they were goods
not in his firm's line, and that his partner had made ar-
rangements with St. Croix, from whom they expected to
get consignments of French waistcoatings. Mr. Sharpe
then tied them up. There were fourteen pieces of cam-
bric and cambric handkerchiefs, and Mr. Sharpe gave
witness a card of the quantities and prices. Mr. Sharpe
asked him to whom he should sell them, and he replied
to the retail trade. After a little more conversation
witness took the goods to his warehouse, and then went
to the house of the prosecutor, and while he was there
Mr. Sharpe came and called him out. They then went
to witness's warehouse, where witness having stated
that he did not consider some of the goods so cheap as
had been represented, Mr. Sharpe altered the price of
them to a lower figure. Subsequently Mr. Brockhill
called at the warehouse, purchased the goods, and ob-
served that they should be sent to the premises of Messrs.
Lewis and James. Again, on the 29th of May, he saw
Mr. Sharpe, who called upon him, and said ito
unpleasant piece of business they had got ints_w.oawVitvness
said it was all right with him, as he coull.,h wherey
he got the goods from ; and Mr. Sharpe d
hsaere I got the
I can clear you, and I can also show
what witness told him
goods." Mr. Sharpe then gave,
he had given before ;
went to
was a different account from
The witness, on cross-
and he said that the account
objectexa was merely to buy goods.
was different, enr, esnatidutnhfaotr unfortunately.
agtoei
ng
to see defendant,
with
Messrs. Lewis and James's, gwetagreohoodussteo. comparene
no surprise at seeing him
The goods were ompyeneisn,s,thtoe
Lewin and James's, and made no observation
at Messrs.
them.
on the fact.
Mr. Sharpe expressed
Mr. E. Hayter, warehouseman to Messrs. Lewis and
James, gave evidence to the effect, that he believed that
the goods produced were part of the missing stock.
f rJmo
ah
tn i
onl Forrester,
received, the officer,wentto
I s
idr. consequencensharpe,
s warehouse,of in-
formation
said I have come to ask you a
question or two
about some cambrics which Mr. Lewis lost out of his
time back,
where
and which you sold to Mr. Hayter.
Is t wantoek
somayou totell me you got them from. He
said he bought them of a Mr. St. Croix, introduced by a
gentleman of the name of Bisson, of Jersey, and that
Mr. Bisson was present at the time he bought them ;
that he received an invoice or bill of parcels written in
pencil, but it was in French. He said he did not know
who Mr. St. Croix was, and where he lived, but he be-
lieved him to be an agent to some French house. He
said he could not find the bill of parcels then, but he
thought he should be able to find it at another time, and
he asked me if he had not better see Mr. Lewis, and I

said he might do as he pleased. He did not aay when
the transaction took plaeo, bur he said that and
St. Croix were stopping at Kennon's hotel together.
This morning I went to Mr. Sharpy, and asked him to
come down here and have this matter investigated, and
he readily came down. I did not consider him in cus-
tody, but Ido uow go milder him. I °guilder litro