The Sun.
London, England, 1859-02-01 00:00:00

CRIMINAL COURT.-(THIS DAY.)

OLD C RT.
(Before the . corder.)
Richard Pike, 29, Margaret Pike, 33, and Margaret
Teggell, were indicted for coining. The male prisoner
pleaded guilty, the females not guilty.
Mr. Bodkin and Mr. Poland conducted the prosecution.
The females were defended by Mr. Metcalfe.
Mr. Bodkin, having stated the case against the prisoners,
called

Mr. Brennan, who said—l am a retired inspector of
police, and am now in the employ of the authorities of the
Royal Mint. I, accompanied by several other officers, went
to a house in Cranbrook-street, Victoria-park, and on gain-
ing admission one of the constables ran into the back yard,
and the others proceeded to the door of a room which was
locked. The door was forced open with a sledge-hammer,
and upon entering we discovered the prisoners engaged in
making counterfeit coin. The man had a mould in his
hand, which he threw down and stamped upon the moment
I entered. I endeavoured to prevent his destroying the
mould, when he became so violent that I was com-
pelled to keep him at bay with the sledge-
hammer. The women then commenced destroying the
the coin that was lying on the table. Immediately the coin
was thrown into the fire it melted, proving that they were
made of base metal. Three or four of the coins were
picked up, and I now produce them. The prisoners made
a desperate resistance, during which the elder female fell
against a chair, and received a very severe injury on the
head. She said, if she had had a knife, she would have
put it into my heart. Upon the room being searched, we
found a tobacco-pipe, with white metal, in a bowl, in a
fused state, a file, a bottle, some spirit, a jug containing
acid, some leaden spoons, a galvanic battery, some " chum-
ming" composition to give the coins a dull appearance,
some plaster of Paris. On my going into the room, Mar-
garet Pike, the elder female prisoner, said, " Oh I Mr.
Brennan, save my child."
Mr. Metcalfe—You forgot to tell, Mr. Brennan, how you
got into the room.
Brennan—Oh, no I I didn't ; one of the police went to
the door and knocked, and got in.
Mr. Metcalfe—He was dressed as a butcher.
Witness—Yes.

Mr. Metcalfe—With a joint of meat.

Witness—No, he had no meat. We are compelled to
ake these measures, or we should very seldcim effect a

capture.

Mr. Metcalfe—You saw all three of the prisoners were
engaged in making counterfeit coin.
Witness—Yes. They were all sitting round the fire.
The male prisoner had a plaster of Paris mould in his
hand making counterfeit shillings. The younger one had
a file in her right hand, and a counterfeit shilling in the
left. Th .woman Pike was engaged doing something at a
table on vhich were a great quantity of counterfeit shil-
lings. When we went in they all commenced throwing
the base coin into the fire, and smashing the moulds.
Inspector Bryan—l accompanied the last witness to the
house in Cranbrooke-street. This witness's evidence was
merely a repetition of Brennan's.
Sergeant Evans, G division—l went with the other
officers. The half mould I produce I picked up off the
floor. It was quite warm when I picked it up.
Tickell was standing upon the fragments of it. She had a
file in her'right hand, with a quantity of white metal in the
interstices of it, showing that she was engaged in filing
the coins.

Arthur Elliot, another police-officer, said—l am a police-
constable. I was the first to enter prisoner's room. I at
the time wore a blue frock as a disguise. When I got in I
took hold of Margaret Pike. She said, " Let me go, or I'll
stick a knife into your heart; or I'll do something
else which shall send you to the grave." They were all
very violent.
Mr. Metcalfe said he felt the evidence was too clear
against the younger prisoner, as she was found with the
file in her hand. With respect to the other female (Mar-
garet Pike) she was entitled to her acquittal, as she was
merely acting under the direction of her husband, and was
therefore an irresponsible agent.
Mr. Bodkin—The conduct and language of the woman
clearly showed that she was under no coercion. (Laughter.)
The Recorder—l think we had bettor have the marriage
proved.
Mr. Metcalfe then called several witnesses, who spoke as

to being present at the marriage of the male prisoner
Richard Pike, and Margaret Teggell, the mother of the
other prisoner, and the learned gentleman also put in tho
marriage certificate.
Mr. Bodkin—l wish Mr. Brennan to be recalled. He,
I believe, has known the woman for the last 14 or 15 years.
Brennan, in answer to questions from Mr. Bodkin, said—
I have known the younger prisoner from her childhood.
I once saw her at Worship-street police court in custody
for uttering counterfeit coin. She has since that time, I
believe, made every effort to get away from home, and has
since been apprenticed to the dressmaking. She was no
doubt incited to the commission of the offence by her
mother, who has been known for some time to the Mint
authorities, but she has always escaped conviction.
The Recorder—l think the marriage of the female pri-
soner has been fully proved, and she is therefore entitled to
her acquittal, with respect to the evidence against the other
prisoners it appears to me so clear that, unless the jury
wish, I think it would only be needlessly occupying their
time to read it over.

The jury, without hesitation, foundboth prisoners guilty,
but strongly recommended the girl to mercy on account of
her age.
The Recorder—l shall respite the sentence on the girl
until next session, as it appears very clearly she has been
struggling against the commission of crime. At the time
she was at Worship-street Police-court she could only have
been 12 years of age, and she must have then been acting
under the direction of her parents.
Mr. Metcalfe—There are persons in court, your worship,
willing to take charge of her.
The Recorder—l am anxious to separate her from her
mother, and for that reason I shall not sentence her before
the next session. In the meantime, inquiries will be made
about her.
Mr. Bodkin—Don't you, my lord, think it is a case for a
Reformatory.
The Recorder—My wish is to separate the child from her
mother.
The prisoner Pike, on being asked what he had to say
why sentence should not be passed upon him, said, " I
throw myself upon the mercy of the Court. I was nearly
starving, and pawned everything before I committed the
offence."

____
The Recorder said the offence was one which could not
be treated lightly, as the manufacturer of counterfieit coin
was the person who was the cause of a great many others
transgressing the laws. His lordship then sentenced Pike
to penal servitude for four years.