The Sun.
London, England, 1851-04-24 00:00:00

UST.

24, 1851.

about 121. in gold and silver of my own money is
the chest. The whole of the other money was the
propi-rry of the Board of Ordnance. 11.-ft my afice
between half-past one and half-past two o'clock on the
Bth. The money was sale than. I first heard of the
rubbery about ball-past six on the following morning. I
found the office door open, and the chest presenting all
the appearance of having been forced open by gun-
powder. The numbers of the stolen notes are from,
96.364 to 96.379, and 74,314 and 74,322. I know
Cornish and Ifive. They were termed unli-m,u. I be-
lieve that Captain Tallith can speak more positively as
to this.

John Barker examined—l sm ofce•keeper and mes-
senger at the Royal Gunpowder Works. I remember
having locked the door of the outer ,ffice on the evening
of the Bth instant, about 20 minutes past 5 o'clock. I

put the key in my pocket, and went into my garden, which
adjoins the office. From this place I should have a
view of the office, but not t,f the door. I afterwards
came home to my cottage, near the entrance-gate, and
hung up the key as usual. I locked the ou er door
and ono inner door, and I saw that the other inner door
was shut. Iwtnt to the office next morning about ten
minutes past six o'clock. The outer doer was un-
locked. On entering, I found the shutter of the lobby
open, and the window flung up; this window was be-
fore I got to the tint inner door. The inner door had
been forced open, and was in splinters. I saw that the
next inner door bad also been broken open, and then I
came away. I went and asked the master mixer, John
Fleming, to come and look. He came, and I then locked
the outer door, and went for Mr. Topping, who came
with other gentlemen. I know Cornish and Eve. '['hey
were mixing-house men and watchmen, and would, i❑
turn, be on duty as night watchmen. Their rounds on
Sunday and on holiday nights would be where this
office was.

William Lane was next called. After the oath had
been administered,
Mr. el riffiths, addressing the witness from the bench,
said in his capacity as a magistrate, he had understood
that ho had been threatened, in the event of his giving
any information as to the robbery. The bench were
desirous he should understand that he might rely upon
them for protection, and they hoped the witness would
not be afraid to speak the truth.
The witness thanked the magistrate, and proceeded to
make the following extraordinary statement:—
I am a gunsmith employed at Enfield-lock, and reside
at Waltham Abbey. I know the tour prisoners. I re-
member bring at Rowe's puhlic-house on the evening
after the robbery, about eight o'clock. Griffiths was
there when I went in. He called me out of the tap-
worn, and we went together outside of the door into
the yard. He said, " Bill, I suppose you have heard of
what was done last night?" " What?" I said. He re.
plied, " The robbery at vie Powder M►lls." I said, "Yes."
He said. "Cornish and Eve are the two that done IL" I
said, " How do you know?" He replied, "I fetched the
tools from Frank Harvey's field, and gave them to Cor-
nish." Frank Harvey's field is just below the Compasses.
Griffiths added, " I had to be in it, but I was shoved
out of it:" We retured into the house. Rowe was there.
He said tome, " What has Jess been saying to you?" I
said, " Nothing." He then said, " What have you been
saying to Jess?" 1 replied, " Nothing." Rowe, then,
making me of an oath, said, " -- your eyes, I will
make you as right as myself it I get hold of the notes."
I said, " Hold your tongue, you can tell me another
time." Nothing else took place that night. Charles
Colverd, Edward Speller, Charles Eve, and his brother,
Joseph Eve, were present at the" time. I can't say that
these persons heard what Rowe esti(' to me. Grifh hs, I
think, did. On the Thursday evening I again went to
Rowe's house about seven or eight o'clock. When I
• went in Cornish an•l Rowe were in the tap-room by
themselves. I was there about an hour; nothing took
place during that time, but as I h.ft the house Rowe fol-
lowed me out and said, "Cornish wants me to go to
London and see-what I can get for the notes." He said,
" I shall g ► up in the morning with King the horse
deal. r." He told me •here were eighteen 201. notes. On
the following day I was at the Compae-es from halt-past
tour to five. I saw Rowe then: He said, " I have been
to London, and I can get 15/. for each of the 20/. notes,
which will make 2701." He added, "I have net got the
notes yet, but I expect Cornish will come down with
them to-night; he promised me he would." I stopped
there till about eight o'clock. I then went out, and said
to Rowe, "Has he been?" He said, "Yes; but be does
not like to let m•e have the notes, for fear I should stick
to the lot." He added that Cornish had said, "It would
be a pretty thing if he stuck to the lot, and did us all
out of them." Rowe said he had told Cornish that if he
was afraid to let him have the whole Of the notes, to let
him have half, and he would get the money for them
first. About ten o'clock on the same night Rowe
came to my house and asked me to lend him
my stick. I asked him, " Have you got the notes?"
He said, "Yes." He added, " I have a great mind
to go off to-night. I shall get there before they get to
bed." On the Saturday, about six o'clock in the even-
ing, Rowe came to my house, and beckoned me out. He
says, " Here's a pretty thing, I can only get rid of two
of those notes out of the eighteen." I asked " Why ?"
He said, " Because they had not got the banker's signs•
lure on them." I did not uncli-rstand what he meant.
He said he bad got 30/. for the two notes he had•chango-d.
and that he should stick to. He said be should return
the other notes to Cornish. I have seen Rowe since the
Saturday. On the Tuesday following I was attacked by
Joseph Eve in the market-place for accusing him of be-
ing in the robbery. I asked him "-Who said su?" He
told me John Cornish. I said I had not; I never knew
nothing about it, and of course 1 could not say nothing.
On Tuesday night I saw Rowe, and told him of the cir-
cumstances. He said, " Never mind what he says; take
no notice of it. If anybody asks you anything about the
robbery you know nothing about it." He then took me
into his house, and said, "-- your eyes, have a glass
of brandy ;" and he gave me one. On the Sunday after
the robbery I went into Rowe's taproom. Rowe was
there, and some other gentleman.—(Laughter.) I said
to Rowe, " Where is my shillelagh?" He called me on
one side, and said, " You -- fool, why don't you mind
what you say—that is a detectiie police."
After sone other unimportant evidence,
Mr. Prentice asked the Bench to grant a remand.
Mr. Parnell and the oilier legal gentlemen strove hard
to get their respective clients admitted to bail, but the
Bench unanimously refused the application, and decided
on remanding the prisoners until Tuesday next.