The Sun.
London, England, 1851-10-27 00:00:00

LAMBETH.

John Mason, alias Bennett, alias Barnet, alias the
Ben. William John Butler, alias the Rev. Charles
William Thlbot, alias Blind Jonney, and Jane Farrer,
alias Mackowen, two notorious impositors, were placed
at the bar before Mr. Elliot fur further examination
on a charge of conspiring together to defraud various
members of the nobility and gentry.
Mr. Wontner attended on behalf of the prisoners,
and Mr. Ferguson, clerk to the Mendicity Society,
appeared to watch and prosecute the case.
It will be recollected that the male prisoner had
been apprehended on Saturday week, on presenting
himself at the post-office, Mount-street, Lambeth,
to get payment for a post-office order for 41. 193.
sd. This order, it appeared, had been obtained from
the Dowager Countess of Shaftesbury in consequence
of a letter received by her Ladyship purporting to
have been written by the " Rev. William John
Butler, of Priory-lodge, Southampton," setting forth
a case of "'urgent distress ;" and before the letter of
Lady Shaftesbury reached Southampton a note was
received by the postmaster there, requesting that any
letters addressed to the "Rev. William John Butler"
might be forwarded to the Cheltenham Coffee-house,
Bridge-road, Lambeth, and several letters were for-
warded as requested.
John Capon, servant to the Dowager Countess of
Shaftesbury, deposed that on Monday week he, by
direction of his mistress, procured a post-office order
for 51., in favour of the Rev. W. J. Butler, end her
Ladyship having enclosed it in a note and envelope and
addressed the letter to the "Rev. William John
Butler, Priory Lodge, Southampton," witness posted
it at Richmond on the same day.
Mr. Ferguson here informed the magistrate that
the post-office order obtained by the last witness had
been made payable at Southampton ; but from a note
which he held in his hand it appeared that it had been
forwarded to the postmaster there, with a request that
he would forward in its stead an order payable from
himself, at the post-office, Mount-street, Lambeth.
This order so procured it was that the male prisoner
had presented for payment when he was apprehended.
He (Mr. Ferguson) also wished to add that the notes
to the post-office and money order-office at South-
ampton were in the same handwriting as the signa-
ture, " William John Butler," to the post-office order
itself.

Michael Gorman, servant to Lady Bexley, 28,
Grosvenor-square, deposed that on the 27th of Sep-
tember last he procured a post-office order for 21.,
and her Ladyship having enclosed it in a letter, and
addressed it to the " Rev. Charles William Talbott,
Walsall," he posted the letter.
Mr. Wontner wished to know what this had to do
with his clients, when

Mr. Ferguson replied that he should be prepared to
prove on a future day that the prisoner was the per-
son who had obtained the order in question.
Evidence was then given of the apprehension of the
prisoner, and the fact of Mason having, when asked
his name, described himself as the " Rev. William
John Butler." Evidence was also given by a young
woman who lives at the Cheltenham Coffee house, in
Bridge-road, Lambeth, that Mason some time ago
had called there and requested that any letters ad-
dressed to the "Rev. William John Butler," and
forwarded there, might be taken in. Letters so
directed were received and taken away prior to the
Saturday before by the male prisoner, and since then
by the female.
Mr. Ferguson requested a further remand, to enable
him to bring forward the necessary witnesses to estab-
lish a charge of conspiracy to defraud several persons
of various sums of money. The prisoners, he said,
were most notorious impostors—the most notorious,
perhaps, of their clan,--and had been frequently con-
victed as rank impostors. They had also been tried,
with a man named Mackowen, at Bath, for conspiring
to defraud several persons there, and, all having been
convicted of that offence, the men bad been sentenced
to twelve, and the woman to nine months' imprison-
ment. At that time the woman lived with Macowen,
but, that person having been transported shortly
after his liberation from prison, she had since lived
and cohabited with Mason, as he now called himself.
Mr. \Vontner contended, in a forcible manner, that
there was no evidence to affect his clients, and that
they were entitled to their discharge.
Mr. ELLIOTT observed that it was quite evident
from the documents produced that a most extensive
system of fraud had been practised by the prisoners
and their associates, which required the fullest inves-
tigation and an immediate check. There was, in his
opinion, quite sufficient evidence before him to justify
his detaining the prisoners for another week, and he
hoped that in the interim the officers of the Mendicity
Society would exert themselves to make the evidence
complete, and that at the next examination the
Countess of Shaftesbury and the Postmaster at
Southampton would appear to give their evidence, as
it was quite monstrous to find the benevolent so
shamefully plundered as they appeared to be.
The prisoners were remanded for a week, and it
was not a little singular that during the investigation
a letter which had been received at the coffee-shop,
addressed to the " Rev. W. J. Butler, Priory-lodge,
Southampton," and re-addressed " Cheltenham Cof-
fee-house, Bridge-road, Lambeth," was handed to
the magistrate, who opened it and found it to contain
a 51. note from his Grace the Duke of Portland. Mr.
Elliott at once, and to the evident mortification and
annoyance of the prisoners, handed the letter and its
contents to Mr. Ferguson.

SEABORNE MAILS,
[N signifies that the mails are sent from the General Post-office
by the night—and M by the morning—dispatch.]