The Sun.
London, England, 1844-10-24 00:00:00

ty• re
CRIMINAL COURT—. tSTERDAYjiv
NE W COUR
(Before Mr. Common-Sergemkt Npititi-oxisp.)
George Obohoueer was indicted for filohitAit.,
int:, at the parish of St. Luke, Old-street, in the county
of Middlesex, on the 25th day of May, 1844, one cask,
of the value of 35., and 841bs. of a certain colour called
Chinese blue, of the value of Cl., the goods and chattels
of Thomas De la Rue and others, to whom he was
servant.

Mr. Clarkson and Mr. Alfred Fry conducted the pro-
secution, and Mr. Ballantyne appeared for the.prisoner.
Mr. CLARKSON having stated the case,
Henry Turner was called and examined by Mr. Fry,
and deposed as follows :—I am in the employ of Messrs.
Dickinson and Co., wholesale stationers, in the Old
Bailey, in the. capacity
.of warehouseman. I have seen
the prisoner once ; it was at the end of May or in the
beginning of June in this year. He brought a cask of
colour about that time to Messrs. Dickinson's ware-
house. I received an invoice with it ; there was a
ticket or kind of card on it, marked 65, Old Bailey. I
received the cask from the prisoner. I took possession of
it, and gave it to our carman to go down to the mills,
to Home Park mill, King's Langley. That is one of
the mills belonging to Messrs. Dickinson. I wrote
Home Park mill "Home P. mill," I think, on the
card. The card being afterwards shown to the witness
with the writing, he said " that is my handwriting."
Cross-examined by Mr. BALLANTYNE—I know no•
thing of the colour myself. I delivered the invoice to
Mr. Patrick.
Thomas Patrick called and examined by Mr. Cuing.
sox—l am a clerk in the employ of Messrs. Dickinson
and Co. On or about the 25th of May last an invoice
was presented to me; -I cannot say whether by the por-
ter or the prisoner. The prisoner was the man who
came to the wa.iaihotise. (The invoice was here pro-
duced by Set:vgriti•Brannan, and handed to witness,
who, having. I( at it, said that was the bill
of parcels presented to me while the prisoner
was in the house.) I paid the prisoner the
amount, O. 9s. 6d. The bill underwent the ordeal of
being sent down to be examined, and having come back
with the signature of the person who received the goods,
theamount was paid.
_

Cross-examined—Messrs. Dickinson are very large
paper manufacturers. lam not in the working depart..
meat, nor do I think there is any one here in that de-
partment.
James Brannan called and examined by Mr. CLARK
' sort---J am the same Brannan who is here so often. I
am a sergeant of the G division of police. On Friday,
the sth of September last, I went to Messrs. Dick-
inson's warehouse in the Old Bailey, and there received
the bill of parcelsnowput into my hands. In consequence
of what I then k arnt I went to the mills of Messrs. Diekin-
on and Company, at King's Langley, and the servant there
pointed out the cask now produced. Inspector Shaekell
marked it in my presence. I then took the card now
produced from the cask, and also a sample of the blue,
and the cask was produced at the next examination or,
the following day.
Joseph Shackell called, and examined by Mr. FRY—I
am an inspector of police. I went with the last witness
on the sth of September, in this year, to Messrs. Dick-
inson's Mill at King's Langley. I marked the cask in
his presence, and took a sample from it, which I brought
up to town.
Mr. Warren De La Rue called, and examined by Mr.
CeanxsoN—l am one of the prosecutors—the firm con-
sists of four persons. lam a member of the Chemical
Society.
By the COURT—One of the partners is named Thomas,
and is my father.
By Mr. CLARKSON—The making of coloured papers
ii one branch of our trade—it is a chief branch. I have
turned my attention to the manufacture of Chinese
blue. There are a great many Chinese blues, which
all the trade use. I have turned my mind to the manu-
facture of a superior colour, of a constant tint. It is a
great fault with-the common blues that they are not of a
constant colour. The Chinese blue I make is manu-
factured by a process of my own. No one out of my
firm has any knowledge of the means by which I make
it. In September I received information which induced
me to send for the prisoner. He was a grinder, an ink
grinder, and confidential storekeeper of colours. The
colour is not ground, but he assisted me in making
it. In consequence of what I heard I asked him if he
had sold ally blue to any person in the trade. He said
" No." I asked him if he had sold any to Messrs.
Dickinson.. He said, " No." I then asked him
whether he had made any blue. He denied having
done so. My father was present. I then told
,him we had a person in the next counting-house
ho could prove he had sold some. He then admitted

he had sold some. He said he had sold some, and made
it at home. I then asked him to describe the process by
which be had made it, if he made it all, and the quan-
tities of the materials ho had used ; and he told me the
wrong proportions. I asked him the proportions, which
he told me, and I wrote them down on this paper (pro-
ducing it). They are 71bs. of prussiate of potass, Vbs.
of copperas, 71bs. of sulphuric acid, one-third of 141bs.
of copperas, one-fourth of 141bs. of sulphuric acid, and
one-fourth of 1 llbs. of nitrous acid. I also asked him
to describe the apparatus he had made it in ; and he de-
scribed having made use of an iron pot, and a few tubs
he had by him. I then asked him, whether any one in
the house knew he had made it ? He said, " No." I
asked him if his wife knew of it ? He said, "No ;" he
made it when she was in bed. And knowing that largo
portions of nitrous fume are given on; and it
would be impossible for any one in the house
not to know it was being made, as it
would almost suffocate them, I sent for a policeman,
and gave him into custody. I afterwards sent down the
officers to King's Langley, to see what he had sold to
Messrs. Dickinson. I cannot say the tub produced is
our tub, but we have such tubs. I have no doubt that
article is my manufacture. According to the account the
prisoner gave me, I am sure he could not have made it.
By his process it would have seemed green. I have DO
doubt the colour produced is mine.
Cross-examined: by Mr. 13ALLANTYNE—At the tiidie
questioned the prisoner I wrote the paper I he.-,re just
read from. I wrote that very paper. I will allow you
to look at it. My father was present at the time. I
remembered all these matters at the psAce-court. I told
my solicitor of this conversation and also the
magistrate, but he stopped Inc. This is the
memorandum I made at the time; it has not been
touched since, but kept in my pocket-book. The altera-
tion you mentioa of oil of vitriol for copperas was a mis-
take—copperas stands for oil of vitriol. It is not the
same article, although called copperas in the paper. it
was the oil of vitriol. There is no other mistake that I
am aware of. Sulphuric acid is mentioned again in the
other part of the process ;" it is mentioned in two
distinct parts. I can recollect the exact proportions of
the materials I use ; but I would not communicate them.
I could tell them one after another, if you were to ask
me. I have been making this colour about two years.
The prisoner knows nothing of the mixing of colours.
I have employed him merely as a labourer. He
used to assist me, and was always present when I
made the colour. There are two things it is composed
of he never saw me weigh. The least proportion of
sulphuric acid, and nitrous acid.—(The rest of the
answer was not given. The question having been ob-
jected to by the witness's counsel.) We make a cwt. of
materials at once. We manufacture it in our own; yard
in Bunhill-row. That is where we give off these nitrous
fumes. Bunhill-row is a thick densely-populated neigh-
bourhood with mealy poor people round us. There is no
inconvenient result that I know of in the neighbourhood
from the making of the colour. It has never
been complained of. About 11b. of each of
the materials will make 211bs. of the material.
We don't sell the blue, we use it simply for the manu-
facturing of our own paper and cards. We don't part
with it to any one. There is one material that is very
expensive. The prisoner said he had used 71bs. of it at a
time. At first hand it is now Is. 10d„ sometimes 28. 6d.
per lb. in large quantities, We do not use a steam-en-
gine, but make it in large vats and steam pipes.
Re-examined by Mr. CLanicsoN—Prisoner was hi our
employ and receiving our wages on the 25th of May,
and had been for five years. He was a weekly servant,
employed from morning till night.
This closed the case for the prosecution.
Mr. BALLANTYNE then addressed the jury for the
prisoner ; after which
The COMMON SERGEANT summed Up.
The jury having consulted for about twenty minutes,
returned the following verdict :—" Guilty; but we re-
commend the prisoner to mercy ; and we are of opinion
that there is a great want Of caution on the part of
Messrs. Dickinson ill purchasing of a common labourer."
There was another indictment against the prisoner,
which was not pressed.
The CommoN ►SERGEANT sentenced him to six months'
imprisonment and hard labour in the House of Corree•
tion, observing, that had the prisoner not been a fo-
reigner the punishment would have been much severer.