The Sun.
London, England, 1851-08-04 00:00:00

EVENING,

AUGUST 4, 1851

will allay the apprehension likely to arise from the
report. . .

Sir P. LAURIE— WO are extremely obliged to you for
coming here to gi‘e us such information. I dare say
that you will see a proper notice of your complaint in
the newspapers. and I shall give directions that imme-
diate intormation be officially given to the Commis-
sioners of the Metropolitan Police Force, in whose ex-
tensive district the tire balloons must be sent up. The
case, in my opinion, comes immediately under the clause
of the Police Act, which enables a magistrate to inflict
a severe penalty for letting off fireworks or combustible
matter; and the places to be watched are of course the
gardens which advertise lists of perilous entertainments.
I am convinced that an application to Mr. Mayne, the
Chief Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police, will
immediately be attended to. I regret to be obliged to
say, that when notice is given of any dangerous or hor-
rible exhibition, the draught of people is always enor-
mous. Such is the case with regard to the poor creatures
who are in the habit of exposing' their lives in the air,
the fatal accidents to whom are sure to increase the
spectators at the succeeding exhibitions.
Sir P. LAURIE fixed Thursday next for the hearing of
a case of much public importance connected with the pos-
session of a pianoforte which had been lent upon hire
and sent to a sale-room to be disposed of. Counsel are,
we understand, to be heard upon the case, which has
excited a great deal of curiosity, and it is expected that
numbers of the trade will be present upon the occasion.

article being solely made for them, at a cost price of
10s. 61. per yard.
74. r. Parry was specially retained for the accused.
Me. Crumble, from Messrs. Birch.= and Co.'s, Par-
liement-street, solicitors to the South-Western Railway
Company, attended to prosecute, and premised his case
by stating that on Monday last a man named Charles
Whither, carrying on business as a greengrocer in
Church-yard, Aldgate, was charged before Mr. Beadon
with stealing 4001. worth of merino and mousseline-de-
laine, the property of the railway company, but assigned
to Messrs. Candy and Co., an eminent firm in Watling-
street, per the South-Western Railway, from Southamp-
ton, in the mouth of February last. The box was
stolen in its transit up the line, and was marked "C. C.
and C 0.," meaning Charles Candy and Cowpany. It
having come to the knowledge of the directors of the
railway company that Mr. Seward, the prisoner, who,
with his brother, is carrying on en extensive business
at 6,7, and 8, Commercial-road East, had purchased a
large proportion of the stolen property, viz,, to the ex-
tent of 600 or 700 yards, application was made on that
evening week. They produced a number of pieces of
merinoes and mousselin-de-laines, French manufacture,
and said that was all they had. The company were
then in hopes that Mr. Seward would have
appeared as a witness fur the prosecution ;
but, unfortunately for the prisoner, it turned
out otherwise. Information had been obtained
that amongst the goods stolen were two pieces of
black merino, which were made specially for Messrs.
Candy, at a trade cost of 10s. 6d. per yard, and were sold
to the prisoner at the price of 9d. per yard. Accord-
ingly, on Wednesday last Mr. Wadham Young, of the
railway company, Mr. Wilson, a gentleman connected
with Messrs. Candy's firm, and Mr. Inspector Field,
went to the prisoner's premises and challenged him with
having more goods than he accounted for. He (the pri-
soner) denied most positively having any more goods of
the description alluded to, and Inspector Field then said,
however oisagreeable the proceeding might be, be must
search the p-einises. That course was adopted, and the
officer would state in his evidence what additional pro-
perty ho found; and in conclusion he would only state
that the directors of the South-Western Railway Com-
pany had considered it their duty, on behalf of the pub-
lic and themselves, to place the prisoner in the dock.
Mr. PATNTXR observed, that before any evidence was
gone into, he wished merely to remark that the case of
the great railway robberies had come originally before
Mr. Beadon, his colleague, and, as it would again be
brought before him at a very early period, he only
wished sufficient evidence to be gone into to remand the
prisoner.
Mr. Charles Frederick Field was then sworn, and
seated that he was an inspector of the detective police.
In consequence of information he received, he went, ac-
companied by Mr. Wadham Young and Mr. Wilson, on
Wednesday last, to Mr. Seward's house, and asked for
Mr. John Seward, and introduced that person to Mr.
Wilson, telling him that he was a gentleman connected
with Messrs. Candy's house, and that he (the witness)
had reason to believe that he had got some more pro-
perty connected wiih the robbery on the South-West-
ern Railway, and that that property was purchased be-
fore his transaction with Whitcher, the remanded pri-
soner. The prisoner replied—" We have no more ; you
have had every yard." Witness said there were two
pieces of black mousselin, and the prisoner replied he
had not got them, and his brother came in and said in
prisoner's presence, " No, Mr. Field, you have had
every yard ; we have no more of it." Witness then
said," Let Mr. Wilson see what you have got," and
the prisoner then went into another shop and brought
out eight pieces and a dress, on which he said
money had been paid. The material produced
was principally mousselin-de-laine in different co-
lours. Atter they had looked at these he said.
" Let us look at your black merino." Sumo pieces were
produced from under the counter, and Mr. Wilson put
his hand on one and identified it as a portion of the
stolen goods, and said to the prisoner, " What did you
give fur this?" and the prisoner replied, " Why, I
bought it in a lot." Mr. Wilson then said, " Where
are the others?"'and the prisoner replied, " Why, we
have sold them at 4s. 11d. the yard," and Mr. Wilson
replied, " Why, they cost us 10s. a yard, wholesale
price," meaning the black merino. Witness then said
these good had been stolen, and he should take charge of
them.
By Mr. Parry—Saw Seward for the first time that
evening week, and communicated to him that goods had
been stolen from the South-Western Railway, and he
was supposed to have received them. He hesitated for
some time, and then said, " Let us go into the back
room"—meaning the shop parlour. He said he had
given 51. for the goods, and witness asked for the invoice;
ho gave it him, but he had lett it at home. In the invoice
it said—
Mr. Parry here checked the witness, and said he must
oppose his stating what was not evidence, as the invoice
was not produced. The witness was believed to be one
of the cleverest officers in existence, and therefore he
must watch him.
The witness continued—He had had three interviews
with the prisoner, and the last was on Friday afternoon,
in his shop. He took away one lot of goods on last
Saturday night, and another lot on Wednesday.
By Mr. Crombie—l asked prisoner of whom he had
purchased the goods, and he said of a man named
Plampin, who he bad afterwards heard was tried and
convicted for the golddust robbery. The name in the
invoice was Honey.
By Mr. Parry—He did not, after being asked if it was
Whitcher, say he had discovered it was Plampin. He
said, Plampin passed as Honey when he sold the pro-
perty. The prisoner said he paid Bd. and 9d. a yard,
taking the whole lot.
Mr. Parry now addressed the magistrate on behalf of
his client, observing he felt the case must be remanded,
and the simple application he should make was, that the
prisoner might be admitted to bail. He had been car-
rying on business twelve or fourteen years. These facts
had been brought to his knowledge a week that day.
The inspector had had several interviews with his client,
and, if he had felt himself a guilty man, had he not bad
many opportunities to flee? He (Mr. Parry) had made
Mr. Crombie acquainted with the prisoner's circum-
stances, and that gentleman knew he was enabled to give
bail to any amount. The prisoner had made no mis-
statement. Mr. Crombie, too, wanted to prove that the
prisoner bought the goods of Whitcher, and he said that
it was Plampin. On the subject of bail the railway
company always left it to the magistrate to put it at
such amount as would insure the attendance of the ac-
cused; that was, supposing the magistrate considered
himself justified in taking bail.
Mr. PAYNTER said, in his remarks, that whilst a case
was pending fur trial he would never take bail for the
accused party, especially in such a ease as the present.
He had known the irnpolicy of such a step. Had the
depositions been completed, he might have admitted the
prisoner to bail.