The Sun.
London, England, 1844-10-22 00:00:00

CENTRAL CRIMINAL COUR.T

George Henry Ward, aged 39, stable-keeper, and
George Ward, aged 19, groom, were indicted for
obtaining, by false pretences, from W. Angerstein,
Esq., the sum of 1151. 10s., with intent to cheat and
defraud him thereof.
In another count the defendants were charged with
the offence of conspiracy.
Mr. Clarkson and Mr. Ballantine prosecuted, and
Messrs. Bodkin and Williams appeared for the de-
fendants.

The charge was made against the' defendants
under the following circumstances :—The prosecutor,
a gentleman, residing at Blackheath, saw an adver-
tisement in the Times, in which three horses were
offered for sale, and according to the description given
of them they were almost perfection. They were
stated to be young and handsome, nearly thorough-
bred, remarkably clever as saddle-horses, and, above
all, perfectly sound. The advertisement concluded
by stating that a liberal trial would be granted to any
person who might be inclined to purchase the animals.
Mr. Angerstein saw the advertisement, and could not
refrain from going to see the horses, with a view to
their purchase. Upon going to Gloucester-mews,
the place to which the advertisement referred, the
prosecutor saw the younger prisoner, George Ward,
who showed him the horses, and told him that they
had been sent up to the other prisoner by a third
party, to be sold on commission. Soon after this, the
prisoner George Henry Ward made his appearance,
and he informed the prosecutor that the horses had
belonged to a highly respectable family of the
name of Loyd, residing near Stratford-on-Avon, and
that, in consequence of the death of the elder member
of the family, they had relinquished keeping the
horses and had ponies in their stead. He described
the horses in such glowing terms that Mr. Angerstein
was quite enraptured, and he resolved not to lose such
treasures, but forthwith gave a cheque for lla
and the elder prisoner handed him a receipt for the
amount, which contained the following expression :
" All the horses warranted sound, quiet to ride, and
drive in single and double harness, and if the horses
were not approved of within seven days, the money
was to be returned." Having obtained possession of
his prizes, the prosecutor directed them to be taken
to the Veterinary College, where it was speedily found
that one of the " sound" horses was a roarer, and
badly spavined ; the second had a chronic lameness in
the off fore-leg ; and the third had been unnerved in
both the fore-legs, and, in point of fact, the horses
were almost valueless. The prosecutor finding lie
had been" done" sent the horses back to the prisoner's
stable, and on going there the next morning to demand
his money, he found that horses and prisoners had all
decamped, and he heard nothing more of either of
them until the 26th August, when the same horses
were offered for sale through an advertisement of a
similar character to that which had attracted the atten-
tion of Mr. Angerstein, and they had very nearly
succeeded in getting off two of the horses to a gen-
tleman named Prior, when they were taken into cus-
tody. The elder prisoner on being charged with de-
frauding Mr. Angerstein of his money, said " he ad-
mitted he owed the man the money, and he intended
to pay him as soon as convenient."
The above facts having been proved in evidence,
Mr. BODKIN took some technical objections to those
counts in the indictment which charged the defen-
dants with obtaining the money by means of false pre-
tences, and contended that the specific allegations
spoken to in the evidence were net in accordance with
the terms of the indictment.

The RECORDER held the objection to by valid, but
decided that the count for the conspiracy ought to go
to the jury.
Mr. BODKIN then addressed the jury in behalf of
the elder defendant, and argued that the evidence was
not sufficient to show a conspiracy between the parties
to defraud Mr. Angerstein, as all that the younger
defendant appeared to have done in the matter was to
act as a servant in the stable of the other, and the
chief matter alleged against him was, that when his
master made some representation about the owner-
ship of the horses, he did not get up and contradict
him. The Learned Counsel made some remarks
upon the subject of the law of conspiracy, and said
that many of the Learned Jndges had declared that
they could not define it, and it had been observed by
one of them that if two or three people were to
cough together in a church it was a question whether
they might not be indicted for conspiring together to
disturb the congregation.—(A. laugh.) He con-
cluded by callinir, upon the jury not to strain the law
to meet any particular case, and expressed his opinion
that the evidence did not make out the charge, and
that the defendants were entitled to their acquittal.
Mr. WILKINS also addressed the jury.
The RECORDER then summed up, and after a very
short deliberation the jury returned a verdict of
Guilty against both defendants, upon the count
charging them with conspiracy.
They were sentenced—George Henry Ward to be
kept to hard labour for twelve, and George Ward for
four, months.

POLICE INTELLIGENCE.
BOW-STREET.

' Yesterday, Anne Smith, a young woman, having a
fine boy about two years old in her arms, was placed
at the bar before Mr. Hall, charged under the follow.
ing circumstances :
It appeared that the prisoner lived in the service of
a tailor named Thomas Henry Ilorrabin, about two
years back, at No. 21, King-street, Covent-garden,
by whom she was seduced, the fruit of which was the
child in her arms, and shortly after he turned her
away, leaving her in the most wretched condition.
Having received assistance from some humane per-
sons, she contrived to make her way to Reading,
where she lived on the bounty of her brother, in ad-
dition to what she could procure by hard work, which
she could seldom obtain, until about thirteen weeks
back, when she returned to London for the purpose
of claiming some assistance for herself and child from
her seducer, who is a married man. After receiving
the most plausible promises respecting his intentions
towards the boy, the only sum she could induce him
to afford her was 10s. which supplied her necessities
for only a very short time, in consequence of which
she went to his house, where she found it was not the
same woman he was living with that had acted as her
mistress when she was in service, and having upbraided
him with behaving with such cruelty to her and her
infant, he applied the foulest epithets to her, and took
her to the station-house, where he charged her with
having annoyed him.
In answer to the Court, the complainant admitted
having been her seducer, but he did not desert her,
as he had offered her 2s. a-week to support her and
the child.
Mr. HALL considered such a sum was too paltry,
and he hoped the parish authorities would assist in
compelling him to secure a proper amount, instead of
allowing the mother and child to become chargeable.
The complainant said he had a housekeeper to
maintain as well as his wife, who was parted from
him, and he could not afford more than he had offered.
A lady residing in Norfolk-street, Strand, who
happened to be in court, came forward and offered to
take the prisoner immediately into her service.
Mr. HALL, having complimented her on her
humanity, entered into an arrangement with the
parish authorities to take the child at 4s. per week, of
which the complainant promised to bear a part.
UNION-HALL.

Henry Brenton, an apothecary, in Nevvpont-street,
Lambeth, was charged with causing the death of
Mary, his wife. The deceased, it appeared, expired
on Saturday afternoon, and a rumour having been
propagated in the neighbourhood that she died from
the violence exercised towards her by the prisoner
soon after having given birth to a child, he was ac-
cordingly taken into custody the same evening, Mr.
Traill having granted a warrant for his apprehension
on the application of Mr. Houston, a surgeon, of
Thavies Inn, Holborn, the father of the deceased.

The prisoner who had been locked up since Satur-
day night, on being placed at the bar declared his in-
nocence of the alleged offence.
Mr. Houston, having been sworn, stated that the
prisoner was married to his daughter, and that about
eight weeks ago she had given birth to a child. That
on last Thursday se'nnight he was informed that his
daughter had received considerable injury at the
hands of the prisoner, and that she died of those in-
juries on Saturday last. The witness described that
an examination had taken place since his daughter's
decease, and that it was pronounced that the injuries
inflicted were on the lower part of the spine.
Mr. TRAILL asked him what evidence he had of the
alleged acts of violence ? The witness, in reply, said
that he was present on Saturday last, when his
daughter was dying, and that she mentioned to him
that the prisoner had done her the injury. The wit-
ness added that he believed that no person was in the
room at the time of the alleged injury, hut the nurse
attending his daughter had heard a scuffle in the bed-
room.

The nurse, a woman named Lee, was then called,
and stated that while she was attending on the de-
ceased last Thursday se'nnight, on leaving the room
and going down stairs she heard a scuffling noise in
the bedroom, and heard the deceased complain of ill-
usage on the part of her husband ; that the next morn-
ing witness found her mistress insensible, and
although she recovered her senses in some measur
after that, yet she dwindled away until Saturday, and
then expired.
In reply to Mr. TRAILL, the witness said slie heard
the deceased tell her father that the prisoner had ill
used her, but she did not describe th:d manner in
which he did it.

Mr. Houston stated that extreme violence must
have been used by the prisoner on the occasion.
Mr. Fisher, a surgeon, stated that he had instituted
an external examination on being apprised of the cir-
cumstances, and discovered that. (ier death had arisen
from disease of the lower part, of the spine, which ap-
peared to have been caused by violence. That if the
injury was owing to the circumstances attending a

difficult parturition the patient would rid hate been en-
abled to rise from her bed, but having been informed
that the deceased had been up since she gave birth to
the infant, he therefore concluded she must have re•
ceived the injury subsequent to her delivery.
The prisoner said that the injury of which his wife
died *ag from natural causes, and that he had done
nothing to produce it.
Mr. TRAILL remanded the prisoner until a post
mortem examination of the deceased had taken place.