The Sun.
London, England, 1850-04-27 00:00:00

TIIE ARGYLL- ILOOMS.

Mr. PARRY said he was instructed on behalf of the
defendants, against whom bills of indictment had
been found by the grand jury on Wednesday last, at
Clerken well, for keeping open the Argyll-rooms in
Great Windmill-street, Haymarket. As the Court
was aware, the same defendants were under more
than one indictment in respect of these'rooms already,
and it could not but be a source of regret that the
Crown—supposing indeed that the Crown could in
any way be concerned iu such proceedings—had not
been represented by some more respectable person
than a common informer, whose real motive must of
necessity be of a questionable character. The appli-
cation he had now to make was, seeing that the de-
fendants were already under bail to appear
to the previous indictments, in which they
were charged with the same offence, alleged
to have been committed at the same place—
some of which indictments were pending in the Court
of Queen's Bench and some in the Central Criminal
Court—that they should not be compelled to put in
any further bail. These new indictments would be
removed at once into the Central Criminal Court,
where there was already a batch of others to which
they were under bail to appear. That being so, he
should submit that there was no ground for calling
upon the defendants to put in additional bail. If they
were ordered to do so, it was quite clear they would
be putting in two sets of bail for one charge.
Mr. WITUAU said that the Assistant-Judge had
directed that the warrant should issue if bail were
not put in to-day, arid, therefore, he could not in-
terfere.
The defendants, with the exception of Emile Lau-
rent, who was absent from illness, then entered into
their own recognizances of 2001. each. Laurent was
ordered to put in bail on Monday.

POLICE INTELLIGENCE.
MANSION-HOUSE. '
Eliza Driscoll, a woman who spoke with a strong
Cork brogue, was brought before Sir Peter Laurie,
charged with having committed acts of imposture.
Mr. S. Cooper Christmas, of Walthamstow, ware-
houseman, said—On the 12th instant the prisoner
came to me at my warehouse, No. 4, Wood-street,
Cheapside, and told me she resided at Walthamstow,
near the Cock Inn ; that she had come up to Spital-
fields-market with her cart; that something was the
matter with the cart, and that the loan of five shillings
would oblige her, that she might get away from the
market. She told me her name was Catherine Smith,
and I let her have the five shillings. I made some
inquiry afterwards, which led to the belief that she
was an impostor. On Saturday last I happened to
get into a railway train, and she sat next to me;
but when I spoke to her upon the subject she denied
all knowledge of the circumstance. She then gave
the name of Eliza Collyer. I have no doubt tis to her
identity.
Mr. Fry, a magistrate of the county of Essex, said
—The prisoner is well known to me and my brother
magistrates. Of all the impostors I have ever seen
she is certainly beyond all comparison the most ac-
complished. Several families, and particularly thp
ladies, who are most likely to be imposed upon, have
been her victims for the last six or seven years. She
has one son in a London prison, and another son con-
fined for felony elsewhere; and she is no doubt bring-
ing up her family to the practices by which she has
been supporting herself. I shall give one instance of
her tact and skill as a professional. She called upon
a lady at. Stratford of the name of Soams, and pathe-
tically represented that she had a child lying dead, and
that she was without the means of laying it in the
ground. She sought assistance to defray the funeral
charges, and the lady expressed her willingness to
give the aid required, but said that before she would
render it she must ascertain the truth of the state-
ment. The prisoner thereupon conducted her home,
and pointed to the bed, on which there appeared
to be a corpse with a. sheet over it. The
evidence Was quited satisfactory, and the lady con-
tributed half a sovereign for the charitable purpose
and retired. Upon leaving the house, however, it
occurred to her that she might have been imposed
upon, and she listened for a short time under the
windove. She *as hot long in that situation when
she heard a voice cry out in a querulous tone,
" Mother, how long am I to remain dead ?"
The prisoner, who had attempted frequently to in-
terrupt Mr. Fry, and declared that he and the other
Esse. magistrates Were the greatest liars to be found
round the metropolis,. said, " I Cant stand this any
longer ;'I can't contain myself at all. The corpse
story has been regularly got up amongst them.
There is not a word of truth in it."
Sir PETER Littlgta--You shall have sufficient
opportunities of making yottr detente, and proving
that the corpse was a genuine one.—(A laugh.)
T. W' Manning 0 I Metropolitan police-sergeant)
said—l know the prisoner. She did not reside at
Walthamstow on the 12th inst. Four of .41,te days
ago I received a letter from the gentleman who was
first questioned, stating that a Woman, who, from the
description given I knew to be the prisoner, had de-
frauded hitti. Her real ttatne is Eliza Driscoll. The
philernan said he would come over to me in a
day or two, and last evening he came accordingiy4
and I took him to Wells-street, Stratford, a notorious
place for Impostors,and called her out of her lodg-
ings. He at once identified her as the impostor. She
said to me that she had not been in London for three
weeks, and .1 took her to the station. Her talent as
an impostor is undoubted.
The prisoner oh,
then, God kowns the story your
--.
Worship heard about the corpse is all untrue. I'll
tell you how it was. I had a child that was taken
ill on a Saturday, d died on the Monday ; and a
id
lady came and said she wished to see an Irish person
laid out. I consented, and •she saw my child lying
dead in the Irish fashion ; and certainly the child had
a complexion just as if it was alive, but it was dead
enougb, sure enough. We, however, kept the body
a week before we buried it. That was the thing that
led to the licit the Essex Magistrates have been spread-
ing about against me.
ft' PPM LAURIE—How long is it since this hap-
pened ? The prisoner—About three years ago.
Sir PETRI, LAURIE (to Mr. Fry)—now long is it
since the lady you speak of heard the remonstrance
of the speaking corpse ? Mr. Fry—About fourteen
or sixteen months ago._ Laughter.)
Sir PETER LAURIE—Then it appears that there
were two transactions of the kind. The prisoner—
Not at all. Mr. Fry speaks of the report which was
spread about in consequence of what happened three
years ago. I have been the mother of thirteen chil-
dren, and I never brought them up to be impostors
either dead or alive.—(Laughter.)
The police-sergeant said it was quite impossible to
find any impostor in England so resolute in carrying
on the fraudulent trade.
Mr. Fry—lt would appear that every word she
utters is spoken with a view of deceiving.
The prisoner—l admit that I got the five shillings
from the gentleman that charged me; but if it was
not for you, Mr. Fry, and other magistrates of the
county, L need not be in this situation at present.
You have tny
inroperty amongst you, as you well
know.--(t1 laugh.)
_1 am charged, too, with having
gone under a false name, although I only changed
maiden name. That's
my marriage name into my
Ell the rest, a lie;
tx?alla•mrgewat said the prisoner had been con-
victed as an ii2priiitot scveral times.
:TER LAurit —1 ewe see that she is a mis-
Sir Piive her am opportunity of
tress of the art, and shall g
deciding between a city and a county gaol for the
term of three months.
The prisoner—l confess I received the money and
hat offence••
I am willing to suffer punishment for t
but I never was spoken to by a corpse in all my life.
Committed. .
Mr. G. V. Robineon clerk and agent to Messrs.
Willmer and Smith, of No. 4, Thanet-place, Temple-
bar, appeared before Sir Peter Laurie under the re-
mora circumstances stated !nlow.