The Sun.
London, England, 1858-08-05 00:00:00

CRIMINAL C')URT.

(Before Mr. Justice Bylcs).
Jamre Grublancl, 40, lever-softer, was charged with
stealing a pm-letter, containing a hall-sovereien awl two
sixpences, the prcperty of her Majesty's Postmaster-
General, on the oth of April, 1838, at i\eeport. -
Mr. Whateley, 9.C., and Mr. Bros appeared for the pro-
secution. The prisoner was undefended by enunsel.
It appeared from the evidence of a Mr. Mould, a clerk in
the missing letter department of the General Post-office,
that several letters sent from Birmingham to Newport had
been missed. Suspicion rested upon those who were em-
ployed at the Newport Office, and, in order to trs them tie
witness set the followirg trap :—He marked a half-sovereign
and two sixpences, a, d enclosed them in a blank envelope
upon it. He then enclosed the en-
velopedirectedai .road
with a postage stamp
i;-. to "Miss Bond, care of Miss Abbott, 73, C?: . ,
sad its contents in another envelope,
m
-road,
the Birmincrham and
h km& and got the letter stamped with
Pilgwenlly, Newport, Mon." He then went to Birmlog-
Umuldworth postmark, and, proceeding to Gloucester, gave

the letter to a clerk in the post-office there, with instruc-
tions. This was on the Bth of April last, and on the day fol-
lowing be went to Newport cad saw the prisoner, who was a
letter-sorter in the Newport offer, and asked him to pro-
duce hi; money. The prisoner produced his purse, which
contained, among other coins, a half-sovereign and a six-
pcnrc, whin t he witness identified as two of the coins he had
(narked and put in the letter. A witnes alsoproduced a second
sixpence which he had received from the prisoner's wife, and
this turned out to be the other sixpence which the witness
Moull had masked. Several other witnesses were ex-
amined to trace the letter to the Newport office, and into
the hands of the prisoner, whose duty it was, along with
another roan, to s; rt the letters on that motninz. The
evidence of Mould as to the producion of the half-sovereign
and sixpence by the prisoner was corroborated by another
witness.

The priz:oner cross-examined one of the witnesses, and
elicited that in February last the witness had paid him a
hplf-sovereign. _

The prisoner in his defence said the half-sovereign found
upon him was the one he had received from the witness in
February la,t, and that the sixpence was one which he had
rtccived in change a short time before he was taken into
custody.

Mr. Justice Ryles having summed up the evidence,
The jury blind the prisoner guilty.
When the case was called on the prison?r complained that
he had given money to an attorney to defend him, but he
hadnct procured him counsel.

Mr. Whateley now stat.d wha►, he said, he could nct pro-
perly state before, that it was qui'e true that the prisoner's
friends had employed an attorney to defend the pri,oner,
but the attorney found the case to be so clear that he had
returned the money.
Mr. Justice Byles said he thought the attorney bad acted
with great propriety, and sentenced the prisoner to five
years' penal servitude.

WESTERN ClRCUlT.—Boneine, AUGUST 3.
CROWN COURT.
(B_fore Mr. Baron Watson.)
Richard fla:shle;gh was indicted for a bu~glary in the
house of Francis Peelle, at Mawnan, on the 9th of March,
and stealing therefrom a very large quantity of plate. -
Mr. Cox and Mr. Powell were counsel for the prosecution;
and Mr. Yonge (for Mr. Coleridge) defended the prisoner.
It appeared that Mr. Heinle was an old gentleman living
with his wife at Peupol, in the parish of Mawnan. They
had two female servants, named Elizabeth Pascoe and Fanny
Martin. On the lath Feb. Mr. and Mrs. Hearle went to
London, leaving their house in the care of the two servants.
On the Bth March there was a village revel about a mile
from the house, and the servants most imprudently, taking
advantage of the absence of their mater and mistress, went
to this revel, and danced in a puolicbouse. The prisoner was
also at the publichouse. They returned borne late in the
evening, but were so much pleased with the dance that they
went there again on the following evening, locking the
door, but not leaving any one in the house. The prisoner,
who had inquired if the girls were coming that second
evening, was at the publichouse when they arrived. In a
few minutes after their arrival he was missed, and was
away for upwards of two hours. Tee girls went home
about 11 o'clock, and then they found that a candle and
matches they had placed on a table had been removed. They
lighted another candle, and then found that the back do 'r
was open. All was confusion in the dining-roots and bed-
room ; all the plate and jewelry were gone ; a brandy bottle
was also gone, but that was not discovered to be missing for
a fortnight after the robbery. Persons were called in and
and the police came, and it was then discovered that a pane
of glass had been taken out of a casement so that a per-
son's hand could be put in, and the casement bad been
opened, and so an entrance had been effected and the rob-
bery committed. There was some blood on the wall inside.
Upon a strict search being made it was found that many of
the things had been broken open with an instrument hav-
ing two handles, but one of them shorter than the other. A
hue-and-cry was raised, but nothing was heard till some
days afterwards, when In a mine almost all the plate mad
the jewelry were discovered, and there was a brass tobacco-
box near it. The question then was, by whom had the rob-
bery been committed ? Some suspicion fell on the prisoner,
and he was taken up, and his house was searched, and in it
were found a pair of pincers, with one of the handles broken.
They exactly fitted the marks in the house. One of his
hands was recently cut. On the night of the revel he had a
brass tobacco-box. When in custody the prisoner asks,dthe
policeman where the transports were sent to. The reply w:as,
"Different ',lace)." The prisoner theta said, "1).; you think
they will transport me ?" Policeman.—" 1 don't know."
The following extraodinary evidence was given :
Thomas Martin.—l am a policeman. Oa the 21st of
March I went.to the Ilelston station in plain clothes and
Into the the cell where the prisoner was; I sat by his bed.
He asked me what I was there for. I told him I supposed
I shoule know in the morning. He said he was there for
robbing old Ilearle's house at Mawoan. After some time
he said, " Had it not been for that box I would dot have
cared." I asked him what box it was. He said "It was
the brass that came off the point of a gig-shaft, which I
used to keep tinder in to light my pipe. I went to Dargon
public-house and stopped some time drinking with my fel-
low-workman. While there I saw one of Mr. Hearle's ser-
vants. I asked if the other servants were coining down.
He said, Yes." I saw the servants there. I then thought
it time to be about my work. I left the house, and went
very fast, and every dirty place I came by I walked on my
tots to prevent footmarks." I asked him how he got into
the het' e. He said, " I broke a pane of glass with the back
part of my hand, and put my hand into unfasten the win-
dew, and the bit of plass that was left in the sash made a
scratch in the hack of my hand, and that was where the
blood came from that was on the wall. The superintendent
has found a pair of pincers, but I do not mind that so
much as a cold chisel, which I do not believe they will
find. Tnere was one remarkable thing there—a toast-
ing fork broken off at the handle, and the handle wts left
behiad. When I got into the house I opened the doors to
prevent my being detected if any person came while I was
in the house. I pulled the box 'out of my pocket with one
of the gold chains which I took from the house, anti I was
afraid to go in search of the box on recount of the police
being about there on the watch. If I had known I was
going to be apprehended I would have burnt the house
to a pit." That's all. I did not go with the intention of
getting evidence against the man. I did not intend to
give evidence against the man. lie told me the box was
found near the place where the plate was bid. Be could
run the plate down with flux. That had he been taken in
the morning instead of the evening they would have
feund the jewels in his pocks t. He had taken a bottle of
brisk brandy and drank part, and buried the other part
in a bottle.
Cross-examined—lt is not my habit to do this. I never
did it before. I went to find net whether there was any
ether party co nnected with prisoner. I remained in the cell
all night. I went there win' another policeman who closed
the door upon rue. I did not give the prisoner to under-
stand that I was a fellow-prisoner. I had on handcuffs. I
did not tell him I was 'there on a charge of robbery. He
asked me if I could keep a secret, and I toll him I could. I
was unwell last Sunday, when 1 was subpoenaed. I did not
intend to go before the magistrates. I kept the secret till
last Sunday. The superintendent knew I was in the cell.
We thought it necessary to go to find not whether another
person was concerned. I told the superintendent that he
told rue he had done it. I have no notes. I Lave been
recollecting since I have been here.
Re-examined.— I told the attorney for the prosecution
last Saturday the particulars of the s•ory. I refused to go
before t hemagistrat es.

By the Judg'e,—Brico, the Superintendent, did not tell me
to go to the cell ; he did not know I was going. Ili!chings,
the policeman, was the person who suggested my going to
the cell.

Mr. Yooge addressed the jury fir the prisoner, contending
that, independently of the last witness, there was no evi-
dence upon which they could convict the prisoner, and as
regarded twat last witness he submitted that it would be ex-
tremely dangerous to rely on his testimony.
Mr. Baron Watson, in summing unobserved most strongly
ou till conduct of the policeman. In this country we had a
tietes• a.ion of anything like spies. Statements made before
!magistrates were not allowed robe gives is evidence except
upon eertain conditions. The magistrates were bound to
give a prisoners caution that what he said would be taken
' down and used against him. They must draw their
o-vn conclusion from the evidence of a man who placed
Urns& in so degrading a position as to go to
a prisoner ander false pretences. Bad as the eat.
deny:, Ivr.s it was badly used and badly brought for.
ward, and kept back till the last inement, ge
should advise the jury to pause before they gave cridit
to snell a person. It was dealing improperly with the course
of justice not to have taken the wan before the magistrates.
If the roan did not go into the cell to get evidence what on
earth did he go there for?
The jury acquitted the prisoner.
The judge said, he hoped the magistrates would take
notice of the conduct of the policeman.

NISI PRIUS COURT.
(Before Mr. Baron Channell.)
PHILLIPS V. BALL AND OTHERS.

Mr. M. Smith and Mr. Kerslake were counsel for the
plaintitFand Mr. Sergeant Kinglake and Mr. Kingdon for
the defendant►.

This was an action of ejectment to recover possession of
some pnpery at St. Austell, consisting of the Red Lion
public-house, two other houses, and some fields. The ques-
tion being one purely of law, it was arranged to put it in
the form of a special case for the opinion of the Court above.