The Sun.
London, England, 1848-03-16 00:00:00

THE GOLD-DUST ROBBERY.

At the Wandsworth Police Court, on Tuesday,
John Wm. Thompson, aged thirty-six, late Captain of the
Medora schooner, was placed is the dock for final exa-
mination on a charge of stealing a large quantity of
gold dust, some doubloons and dollars, the whole amount-
ing to nearly 7,000 h in value, and consigned ,to Messrs.
W. M. Hutton and Sons, No. 25, Watling-street, City,
merchants.

The first witness sworn was Mr. William Mackintosh
Hutton, who stated that he lived in Larkhall.lane,
Clapham, and is in partnership with Mr. Robert Hutton,
carrying on business as merchants, under the firm of
W. M. Hutton and Sons, at Watling-street. They are
the owners of the schooner Medors, and the prisoner
had been their captain for five years. In October last
he went out to Cape Coast and other places on the Gold
Coast of Africa, there to take in a cargo of palm oil
and other freight, with gold dust and.specie, as the resi-
dent merchants might desire to consign homewards.
Prisoner had orders from the firm to proceed, as soon as
the ship was laden, to the port of London. Prosecutor
heard nothing of the vessel until the 3d of March, when
he received a number of letters brought by that ship,
and one from the prisoner, dated March 2, in which ho
stated that on leaving tho Gold Coast he fell ill with the
fever, and was attacked with delirium, and that whilst in
that state ho threw over the gold dust, and said it was
the act of God. Prosecutor had then only bills of lad-
ing for six hundred ounces of gold dust ; the prisoner
had kept back the other bills of lading, and kept him in
ignorance of the other consignments. Prosecutor, in
consequence of receiving this extraordinary letter, sent
two of his clerks to Portsmouth, where the ship was ly-
ing, and from what they told him on their return he
communicated with the police, and on the morning of
the 4th of March he accompanied police-constable
Gibbs, 77 V, to No. I, Wellington-terrace, Clapham-
road, where they devised means to ascertain whether
the prisoner was there, and finding that he was, prose-
cutor's son went in doors with the constable, who
brought the prisoner out. Gibbs produced a basket
containing bags of gold, and prosecutor asked prisoner
if that was the gold he had brought on freight, and he
said it was. He then asked him for the bills of lading,
and he said he did not know what had become of them.
Prosecutor asked prisoner how much gold there was in
all, and he answered about 1,600 ounces. Prosecutor ob-
served he had bills of lading for 600 ounces, and asked who
the rest was consigned to ? He said about 500 ounces
to Messrs. Foster and Smith, and a similar quantity to
Messrs. King, of Bristol. Their own bills of lading
were for a box containing 100 ounces of gold dust, from
Mr. Thomas Hutton, his nephew ; another box from
Mr. Samuel Seabro, containing 150 ounces, and a third
box from Mary Jackson, containing 350 ounces of gold
dust. These were all consigned to their firm, and should
have been delivered in the port of London. The ten
bags produced, and the belt produced, all made of fine
canvass, filled with gold, and marked by prosecutor and
the police, were taken to the Bank of England Bullion
Office, together with the dollars and doubloons. He
attended yesterday at the Bank, and saw the gold taken
from the bags produced and weighed ; it amounted to
1,5540 z. 17dwts. ; the value of which was about 6,000/.
He had until this occasion no reason to suspect the pri-
soner's honesty.
Mr. Samuel Ohea, clerk to Messrs. Brown and Wim-
browe, gold refiners, proved that that firm received an
authority from Mr. King, of Bristol, to receive 4770 z. of
gold dust from Captain Thompson, as also 20 doubloons
and 170 dollars, to melt and refine. The firm had re-
ceived no such package.
Mr. John Milner, clerk to Messrs. Foster and Smith,
New City Chambers, Bishopsgate, proved that three
boxes of gold dust, containing the several quantities of
2750 z., 1620 z., and 112 oz. consigned to them, had not
come to hand.
Peter Rowe, the first mate, was next sworn, and said
he wont out with the prisoner in the schooner Medora
in October last. Ho saw a box, which ho supposed con-
tained gold, come on board at Annamaboe, addressed to
Messrs. King. About ten days after leaving the Gold
Coast the prisoner became ill, and took to his bed. He
was ill twenty-five days, from the 25th of January to
the 18th of February. About twelve days after he was
taken ill he was called from his berth by the second
mate. At about half-past eleven o'clock at night he
saw the Captain lying in his berth, and he asked him
what he wanted. Witness told him he had been on
deck, and he said, " Yes, I threw away the gold, and
they want to kill me for it." Witness then left him,
and did not have any conversation with him until about
twelve days after, when he called witness into his cabin,
and gave him a small key, with which he told him to
open the locker in the state room, and satisfy himself
what mischief he bad done. He opened the locker, saw
some loose articles, and then asked him what there was
there ? and he replied, " Seven boxes of gold dust."
Witness told him they_were all gone, and after a few
minutes, the prisoner asked witness to tell him how it
was, and whose fault it was on deck, and who was at the
helm, and how it was they did nothing to prevent him ?
He said he supposed they were afraid of him. Witness
told prisoner he had better ask Honner, the second mate,
about it. On the 4th of February, witness made the
following entry in the leg-bOolt, from fasts stated to
him by the second mate :
" Protest—This is to certify, that at about half-past
eleven P.M.. on Thursday, the 3d of February, Captain
Thompson, whilst in a state of delirium, came on deck
with a box supposed to contain the freight gold, and,
before it could be prevented, ran to the lee side of the
ship and dropped it overboard, exclaiming, There, you
shall have that; you may kill me now ;' and then re-
turned into the cabin. We, the undersigned, having
the watch on deck, do declare the above to be true, and
we then called the mate, who, in the presence of us and
others of the ship's company, went into the cabin to
try and discover what box it was; that the captain, in
answer to his inquiries, said that it was the gold, and
that he (the mate) then locked everything up and took
away the key.
" Medora, Fob. 4, 1848."
(Signed)—" George Homer, officer of the watch;
Thomas Hughes, seaman; William Ansell, ditto, at the
helm; Peter Rowe, chief officer."
Witness did not know why the vessel did not proceed
direct to London. The wind shifted much, the sails
wanted repairing, and the crew required rest. Tile first
place they stopped at was the Mother Bank, and cast
anchor at about five o'clock in the evening. The pri-
soner left the ship about noon. The next day we went
ashore in a large cutter belonging to the agents to
Lloyd's. The prisoner said he was going t9,London.