The Sun.
London, England, 1858-11-16 00:00:00

MIDDLESEX SESSIONS.—Nov. 15;

The sittings of the court for the November
General Sessions, were resumed this morning at the
Guildhall, ' Westminster, .by adjournment from
Clerkenwell, before Mr. Pashley, Q.C., Assistant,
Judge, Mr. J. Payne, Deputy, Mr. Healey, Mr
Goodhart, , Mr. Dunsdale, Mr. Stilwell, and Mrj,
T. E. Baker. There were 58 prisoners for trial;
52 for felony, and 6 for misdemeanour.
On the names of the gentlemen summoned to
serve on the. grand jury being called over, several.
complaints were made that the method of summon-
ing was not so impartial as it ought to be, many
persons being frequently called upon to serve, while
others seldom, if ever, were.
George Mumby, 19, school-assistant, was in-
dicted for stealing the sum.of 25., the money of
George White, his master. He pleaded guilty.
Mr. Tayler was for the prosecution, Mr. F. H.
Lewis appeared for the prisoner..
The Assist4nt:Judge, after reading the deposi-
tions and asking the proSecntOr a few questions,
said this was a very serious case of larccny by a
servant—far more so than such eases ordinarily
were. The prisoner, it appeared, was a school
teacher and had :held a situation in that capacity
at Hull. In February last he obtained a situation
under the prosecutor, the master of a large school
in Abbey-street, 'Bethnal-green, where there were
something like 700 scholars,. at a salary of £4O
a year. Soon after he was engaged money belong-
ing to the schOol, and also to a penny savings-bank
with which Mr: White was connected, was
missed on several occasions, and circiimstances
having eventually directed suspicion to the prisoner,
some of the money .was marked, and this led to
his detection, Although he was charged with'
stealing_ but 2s. in -this indictment, upwards
of £lOO had been missed, and the prisbner ad-
mitted to Mr. 'White he had taken -larger sums,
and. that on learning where the money was
kept he procured a false key of the. closet, and
thus committed the theft. This was not a
case of sudden temptation ; it was a deliberate
and systematic plunder, carried on during several
months by a servant whose position and education
aggravated this offence. When he was taken into
custody no less than 39 pipes of various descriptions
and several sorts of tobacco were found among his
things; from which it might be inferred that an ex-
travagance in that respect had had something to do
with his being led to rob his master. The Court
could pass upon him a sentence of penal servitude
for a long term of years, but, under all the circum-
stances, the sentence would .be one' of hard labour
for 15 calendar month's. . _ _

William Sampson, 25, a shoemaker, was indicted
for:stealing a deal box, containing half a cwt. of
starch, the property of Joseph Davison. He pleaded.
"-Guilty," and being an old offender, he was sen-
tenced to three years' penal servitude.
Mr. Ribton was for the prosecution.
George Phillips, 16, was convicted of wrenching
off two brass plates from a shop window, No. 180,
Tottenham-court-road.

The Assistant-Judge said the prisoner was a re-
gular knocker-wrencher, and sentenced him to 12
months' hard labour.

Francis John Higgs, 37, was indicted for stealing
a bank note for £5, six silver spoons' and a sove-
reign, the property and money of Harris John
Holland, his master. Ile pleaded " Guilty."
The prosecutor is a gunmaker, 98, New Bond-
street, and the prisoner was in his service as porter.
In May last he was sent to the prosecutor's bankers
with some checks, and he absconded with a £5 note,
a sovereign, and a draught for £2O. -He was not
taken until the 29th of October, when he told the
constable that he got drunk, and having been
robbed of the money he was afraid to return to his
master. He admitted that he had stolen half-a-
dozen spoons, his master's property, which he had
pledged in Oxford-street. This was found to be
correct, and the spoons were ordered to be given up
to the prosecutor.
The Court sentenced him to nine months' hard
labour,
William Smith, 20, carman, pleaded guilty to two
charges of fraud, obtaining by false pretences from
James Dupree two whips and other articles, the
property of Robert Osborn ; and from James
Reeves Burgess, 571 b. of cheese, with intent to
cheat, &e. The particulars appeared yesterday in
the police reports. The Court sentenced him to
five months' hard labour. _ _

James Lloyd, 32, and Joseph West, 27, chimney
sweepers, were indicted for stealing a sweeping
machine, the property of Joseph Watts ; and also
for stealing a sweeping machine, the property of
Daniel Bosworth.

Mr. Cooper prosecuted.
The evidence made out the charges, and both
prisoners were found guilty.
Sergeant Potter, D division, proved a former
conviction for burglary against Lloyd, who was
recognised in court as having been in the West-
minster prison, for felony, in the name of Pettifor,,
14 years ago. Three convictions were known
against him, and there was reason to believe,
Potter said, that he was a returned convict. He
was one of a well-known gang burglars, of and
since he had been out of prison there had been
three burglaries at gentlemen's houses where he
had been employed to sweep chimneys. The police
had traced the prisoner as being close to the
neighbourhood at the time the- burglaries were
committed, but were unable to procure evidence
directly implicating him in them.
'Lloyd said it was all got up against him out of
spite.
The Court sentenced Lloyd to three years' penal
servitude ; West to six months' hard labour.
William Fletcher, 47, was indicted for having
stolen a barrow, value 10s., the property of Henry
Pearce ; a ladder, a hod, and two forks, the pro-
perty of Isaac Noy ; and a barrow, the property of
John Forster: He was convicted, and sentenced to
six months' hard labour.