The Sun.
London, England, 1860-09-06 00:00:00

POLICE INTELLIG.ENCE—Cept. 5.

MANSION-HOUSE.—Mr. George Russell, a
ship-broker in Fenchurch-street, appeared before
Mr. Alderman Hale, upon a summons on which he
was charged with an assault upon a young man
named William Griffin.
Mr. Buchanan appeared to support the complaint.
Mr. Wontner attended for the defendant.
This case occasioned a good deal of laughter
in the court. It appeared that the complainant was
in the service of Mr. Bradshaw, a hosier in Cheap-
side, and that Mr. Russell had ordered him to
make some shirts, and one was sent for a sample,
but it did not suit, and was sent back to be altered.
There appeared to have been some little dis-
agreement in reference to this shirt, and on the 30th
'of August the complainant was sent by his master
to Mr. Russell's offices with the bill. According to
his evidence he had no sooner set his foot into Mr.
Russell's office than one of his clerks, a young gen-
tleman named Irwin, told him " to come out of that
directly ;" and he was told that if he dii not go
out he would be kicked out. He replied that
there was no necessity for kicking him out, as he
'was willing to go quietly; and he represented that
upon his saying this, Mr. Russell rushed from his
desk, seized him by the shoulders, and with con-
siderable violence " bundled" him into the street.
During the scuttle he dropped a parcel he had with
him, and his hat fell off his head, and he stated that
he saw Mr. Russell pick up the hat, and, treating
it as he would a football, kicked it out into the
street after him.
The complainant, in answer to questions put by
Mr. Wontner, denied that there was any under-
standing that the shirts were to be paid for until
Mr. Russell had had an opportunity of seeing whe-
ther they fitted or not, and he also denied that he
was told to leave the office and that he refused to
do so.

Mr. Wontner, on behalf of the defendant, de-
scribed the proceeding as a trumpery affair, that
ought never to have been brought into a court of
justice, and he called one of the defendant's clerks,
who proved that the complainant was repeatedly
requested to leave the office, and he declared that
he would not do so, and was very uncivil, and that
the defendant was at length obliged to turn him
out, but no more violence was used than was abso-
lutely necessary to effect that object. With regard
to the hat it was stated that all that occurred was
that it fell off and it was thrown out into the street
after him.

Alderman Hale dismissed the summons.

BOW-STREET.—Miss Sarah Ann Pickard, watch
dealer, Hatton-garden, appeared before Mr. Henry,
on a summons obtained at the instance of the Com-
missioners of Inland Revenue, to answer the charge
of having wilfully and knowingly used a forged de-
claration in a business transaction appertaining to
the Customs. There was a second summons charg-
ing the act of forgery, but this was abandoned by
the Crown, on the failure of the evidence to support
the case.
This was understood to be the first prosecution
under the recent treaty with France.
Mr. Weymouth, solicitor for the defendant, took
some preliminary objections to the form of proceed-
ing, on legal grounds, but they were not allowed.
Mr. Beverley, one of the solicitors for the Crown,
drew the attention of the Court to the particular
section of the Customs Act under which the present
charge was instituted, and then proceeded to state
that their object was to protect the English trade
from the practice pursued by certain dealers of im-
porting into this country watches of foreign manu-
facture bearing the names of well-known English
makers, which had been engraved upon them abroad.
These were sold in Englan for British watches, at
a price greatly beyond their value, and thus a fraud
was perpetrated on the public, which the Commis-
sioners of Inland Revenue felt it their duty to pre-
vent as far as possible. In the present instance
there had been no attempt to evade the Customs
duty, for under the new treaty all watches, both of
English and foreign manufacture, were admitted
into this country free of duty—an exemption for-
merly conceded to English watches only. By the
regulations of the Excise, which they were em-
powered by the act of Parliament to enforce, it was
an offence to make or use any false declaration or
instrument in a business matter, which rendered the
offender liable to a penalty of £lOO and it was that
penalty which they now sought to recover.
Mr. John Alexander, second clerk at the police-
court, Clerkenwell, proved that the form of declara-
tion now produced was made on the 6th of June
last, in his presence, and signed by Mr. R. P. Tyr-
whitt, the magistrate. The person who made the
declaration signed the name of " Moses Tobias,"
and declared to the truth of the allegation in the
usual form. The Mr. Tobias now present is not the
person who signed the declaration.
Mr. John Wilson, Excise agent, of 12, Harp-lane,
Thames-street, deposed that about the end of May
last a case of watches was imported by the ship
Albion from Boulogne, in reference to which wit-
ness received the bill of lading from defendant. It
was signed at the back by defendant, who gave him
instructions to clear the case and send it home.
Subsequently the goods were detained, and witness
called on defendant in Hatton-garden, where she
occupied a private house, having her name on the
door-plate. Witness told her that the watches had
been detained because some of them bore the name
of Tobias, an English maker, engraved upon them,
which made it necessary that Mr. Tobias should
sign a declaration that the watches were imported
by him, or by his sanction and authority, and for
his trade. Witness promised to send her the usual
form of declaration made in such cases, and he re-
ceived a letter from her a day or two afterwards,
which he had since lost, but of which he possessed
an accurate copy made by himself.
The copy, on the objection of defendant's soli-
citor, was not produced.
The defendant's signature on the bill of lading
was proved by another agent, and Mr. Beck de-
posed to having filled up the form of declaration
under Mr. Wilson's instructions. It was the same
now produced,
Mr. Michael Tobias examined—l reside in Sun-
street, Waltham Abbey, and am a watchmaker and
jeweller. I know the defendant, Miss Pickard. I
knew her first about the Bth of March last, when I
saw her on business and gave her my card, the same
as now produced by the witness Wilson, in case
she should have to refer to me. I know nothing of
the declaration produced. No part of it is in my
handwriting, and I never authorised it to be made.
There is no other person of my name at Waltham
Abbey. I believe there used to be and still may
be a firm of that name at Liverpool in our trade.
About five or six weeks ago the defendant called
on me, and I said to her, " You have got me into a
fine trouble," and she replied, "I am very sorry.
All I know is that I gave your card to the agent,
and what he did with it I cannot say." I said,
" Hs ought to be transported for forging my name."
She made no reply to this.
Cross-examined—l know the card produced is the
one I gave her, because I wrote on the back of it.
WM. Peyton, an officer of Customs, deposed that
the case of watches was imported on the 17th of
May, and contained 42 gold watches, 108 silver
ditto, and 36 metal watches, the present charge
having relation to the latter only. Two of the
metal watches were now produced. The name of
"M. T. Tobias," with a description in English was
engraved upon them, and a word underneath,
which he believed to have been " Liverpool," had
been obliterated. They were both foreign watches.
Cross-examined—There was no duty on any
watches passing through the Customs in May last
I infer that the word obliterated is "Liverpool"
from an examination of all the metal watches,
where all the different letters of the word are more
or less perceptible.
Mr. Weymouth—ls it not a well-known practice,
even by first-rate houses, to import foreign watches
with English names upon them ?
Witness—lt is not the practice of " first-rate"
houses to do so, but I know it is extensively done.
We always seize the watches when we find it out.
It was stated that the watches produced wire
worth 16s. each, and would sell (as English make)
at about £3 each.
Mr. Weymouth addressed the Court for the de-
fendant, urging that if any fraud had been prac-
tised his client was perfectly unconscious of it. She
had no motive in making or using a false declara-
tion, and it might be that some one had done it for
her without her knowledge. He contended also
that the charge was not fully supported by the
evidence, which failed to show that the declaration
was a forgery, It; however, the Court thought the
case had been established, he trusted that his
worship would exercise the power he possessed of
mitigating the penalty to one-fourth,
Mr. Henry—l think it has been abundantly
proved
that the defendant " used" this counterfeit
she sent,ery
r(rl eocbliaarsa tgiao
e,with a card which Mr.
different purpose to the
witness, Mr. Wilson ; and, so far from there being
herhi which
for a
any mitigating circumstances in the case, I am of
opinion that the Commissioners have acted very
leniently in the matter. The offence committed is
an indictable one, and tho defendant might have
been required to answer this charge before a jury.
it is of the greatest importance to the public, and