The Sun.
London, England, 1856-11-07 00:00:00

POLICE INTELLIGENCE.—Nov. 6.

MANSION-HOUSE.—THE GREAT GOLD ROBBERY.
—Wdliam, Pierce and James Burgess, the former once a
guard, and the latter, • till last night, holding a similar
office in the service of the South-Eastern Railway Com-
pany, were brought before the Lord Mayor, in custody
of Sergeant Smith, a detective officer belonging to the
Metropolitan Police force, upon the charge of having
been concerned in a robbery of 15,000/. worth of gold
from a package in its transit from London to Paris in
the month of May, 1355.
Mr. Bodkin appeared in support of the prosecution,
and Mr. Wontner attended on the part of Pierce.
Mr. Bodkin said the prisoners were charged with
being concerned in robbing a South-Eastern train in
the month of May, 1855, of a quantity of gold in the
act of transmission to France, of the value of 15,0001.
Pierce with an associate whom it was proposed to call
as a witness hereafter, were the persons who principally
planned the robbery, assisted by Burgess, who at that
time was guard and had charge of the train that was
robbed. He (Mr. Bodkin) would not go into the par-
ticulars at that moment, but was perfectly justified, from
what he knew of the case, in stating that the offence
imputed to the prisoners would be brought home to
them hereafter by the clearest evidence. Some disclo-
sures of an extraordinary kind would probably be made
in the course of the investigation, bat he forbore to go
into them for the present.
Mr. John Charles Roes, solicitor to the South-Eastern
Railway Company, said—l am conducting the prosecu-
tion against the prisoners for being concerned in a rob
bery of a large quantity of gold in May, 1855, from the
railway. They were taken into custody yesterday by
my anthority, and I believe, if a remand takes place, I
shall be in a c.indition to produce evidence affecting them
both touching the present charge. I have no doubt to be
able to show their guilty participation in the robbery.
One of the witnesses I propose to call is a convict con-
fined in Portland Prison, and it will be necessary to make
an application to the Secretary of State or to the proper
authority to secure his attendance here. I expect to be
in a position to proceed with the charge on Wednesday
next •

Cross-examined by Mr. Wontner—l have seen the
prisoner alluded to, and upon what I have heard I found
icy conclusions. I saw him last Saturday. I Lave been
acquainted with Pierce's address a good many months.
Ho was taken into custody on leaving his house yester-
day.
Re-examined—Burgess had been about 12 years in the
service of the company, and was the guard when the
robbery took
The Lord Mayor—You say that you have had personal
communication with the witness whom you propose to
produce ?
.Fitness—l have.

The Lord Mayor—And the evidence of that man is so
direct that you think yourself justified in making the
application to the court to detaiu the prisoncri ?

Witnem —Quite so ; in my own mind I am quite
satisfied.

Burgess—l have not been treated very fairly by this
company, who have not taken my cause in hand. I told
Mr. Rees last night that I should send for Mr. Hum•
phreys, and Mr. Humphreys came to me this morning.
The Lord Mayor—From long experience it is my duty
to say that there is nothing whatever at present affecting
either of you. Pierce is advised and defended ; you are
not. There is nothing at present in this case, except
the opinion of a professional man, who has seen a witness
who it is supposed will affect your character. The
case has been opened, and probably before you appear
here again some professioal man will attend and protect
you. As far as I myself am concerned, lam sorry to
see a railway guard of many years standing—one of a
moot respectable class of our population—standing atthe
bsr upon a charge ~f this kind.
Mr. Bodkin—l am quite sure that his lordship's know-
ledge of Mr. Humphreys will justify my saying that if
there has been any reluctance on the part of that gentle-
man to appear for the prisoner, nobody can doubt that
he has abundant reason for the course be has adopter).
The Lord Mayor (to Burgess)—Mr. Humphreys did
appear in a case which I presume has some connection
with this, and probably that may be a reason why he
could not accept the retainer that you offered him.
Mr. Wontner- -I ask your lordship to deal with this
as you would with any other case. This is a case in
which I submit there is no evidence wnatever. We
have simply the opinion and belief of a gentleman. But
the law does zot allow magistrates or judges, or anybody
&so, is act up )n opinions and belief which are not based
upon legitimate evidence. There is no evidence before
your lordship to justify these people being remanded, ex-
cept the belief of this gentleman that he will be able at a
fdture period to produce evidence against them. It is
therefore, material to consider whether it was necessary
to give these parties into custody until he was in a posi-
tion to manifest the justness of his belief by the produc-
tion of evidence. The witness for years past has known
Pierce's address. Burgess, I understand, is a railway
guard in the employment of the, company np to the pre-
sent hour. He was taken off the train last night. The
company, therefore, are not dealing with persons likely
to fly from an investigation, and it is monstrous to ask
you to detain these men because the solicitor to the
company chooses to come. into the box and to state his
belief that upon some future occasion he will he able to
make out a case against them. There is nothing what-
ever to implicate these parties in the transaction, and
sitting here as a magistrate bound to receive and to de-
cide upon legal evidence, before you would deprive a man
of his liberty, I think, sitting in that capacity, and with
those duties surrounding you, you will feel that you are
not justified in detaining the prisoner.
Mr. Bodkin—With respect to these parties, what has
been done has been done entirely upon my advice, and
I think that the interests of justice would have been
greatly perilled if the blow had not been struck at the
moment it was.
The Lord Mayor—That is a matter into which I can-
not enter. The principals in this case act upon their
own responsibility. All-I have got to do is with the in-
terests of justice now that the parties are before me.
Whether they ought or ought not to have been taken
into custody, or whether the prosecutors ought to have
waited longer before taking that step, I have not to
deal with. The parties are here before me. The pro-
fessional gentleman says that he himself has seen a wit-
ness who he believes will substantiate the case before
me.
The prisoners were then remanded.