The Sun.
London, England, 1844-08-17 00:00:00

THAMES POLICE.

On Thursday John Riley, a lighterman, was brought be-
fore Mr. Ballantine for final examination, charged with
stealing 38 gallons and one quart of brandy, in the West
India export-dock.
Mr. Tyrrell, solicitor to the Dock Company, appeared
for the prosecution ; and Mr. Wontner for th defence.
Considerable interest was attached to the prisoner's
examination, as he is known to have been for some time
connected with a daring gang of thieves. About two
months ago he was charged, in conjunction with two
other lightermen, named Drake and Pearce, with steal-
ing 38 gallons of brandy, found secreted in a lighter be-
longing to Mr. Lucy. After several investigations, which
left no moral doubt of the guilt of all the prisoners,
Riley and Drake were discharged for want of sufficient
evidence, Pearce having previously made his escape by
knocleing down Cook, the gaoler at the Lambeth-street
Police-court, and making his way through the crowd
assembled at the police van. Pearce was out of the way
for some weeks afterwards, and subsequently got into
collision with the police, and was committed to prison
for one month, for assaulting two constables in the exe-
cution of their duty. The robbery with which the pri-
soner now stood charged was planned and executed in
the same way as the former one, the detection in both
cases was similar, end the quantity of brandy stolen
was precisely the same.
On Thursday fifteen witnesses were examined, from
whose evidence it appeared that in the latter part of
July upwards of fifty casks of brandy were conveyed in
lighters from the London and St. Katherine's Dock fur
shipment on board the Honduras, for Jamaica, in the
West India Dock. The lighters which conveyed them be-
longed to Mr. Sage, Mr. Lucy, and Mr. Riley,:the prisoner's
father, and one of those lighters, a lug-boat, No. 774,
was navigated by the prisoner himself. The casks were
all in a perfectly sound condition when they left the Lon-
don and St. Katherine's Dock. On the evening of the
3d instant, after the delivery of the brandies on board the
Honduras, the prisoner was seen coming over that vessel
by Davis, a watcman, who spoke to him, and he said he
was looking after a lug-boat alongside the ship. He re-
quested Davis to keep an eye on his lug-boat during his
absence, and he saw no more of him then. At six
o'clock in the morning of the sth instant the prisoner
was seen coming through the lock, which leads from the
export-dock to the river, with his father's lug-boat, and
Biggs, the foreman of the lock, asked him for the usnal
written pass authorising him to go out. The prisoner said
he had not got one, and he was directed to go back and ob-
tain one of the proper officer. The prisoner left the lock
apparently for that purpose, and did not return. Directly
after he was gone Biggs discovered something which ex-
cited his suspicions, and he communicated with Haseltine,
a dock constable, who waited for two hours, and then
hauled back the lug-boat into the export dock bason,
when he searched her more effectually than Biggs had
done, and on lifting tip the bottom boards, he found con
cealed, between the ribs of the lug-boat, and partially
immersed in bilge water, 43 skins. containing 38 gallons
and one quart of brandy. He also discovered, under the
head sheets of the lug-boat, a complete set of implements
for drawing off spirits from casks, which consisted of a
centre-bit, gimlet, tap, spile, and tube, and also ten can
vass bags, evidently intended to convey the bladders
containing the brandy ashore. No more was seen of
the prisoner until Thursday night last, when Mr. Evans,
jun., an Inspector of the Thames Police, who knew his
haunts, apprehended him at a brothel in King-street,
Commercial-road, the place where he took him into cus-
tody on a former occasion. The gauging, delivery, and
shipment of the casks of brandy on board the Honduras
was proved by a variety of witnesses, and upon five
casks being re-gauged, a deficiency of 38 gallons and
one quart—the exact quantity found in the bladders—
was ascertained. Samples from the casks and the skins
were produced, and corresponded in colour and quality.
Mr. BALLANTINE asked at what time the prisoner en-
tered the dock with his father's lug-boat ? Simmons
replied, that he entered the dock with his master's
lighter, containing brandy, on the 31st of July, and the
prisoner went in with the lug-boat at the same time.
Mr. BALLANTINE inquired if there were any marks on
the casks, corresponding with the implements found in
the lug-boat ? Haseltine said three of the casks bad
been bored by a centrebit, and the holes stopped up af-
terward with cork. The centrebit produced fitted the
mark. He applied the centrebit and gimlet to the spile
holes in two other casks, and they also corresponded.
James Anderson, a watchman in the export-dock,
said that after the lug-boat was stopped by Biggs at the
mouth of the lock, the prisoner came to him for a pass,
and he said he would give him one. They walked a few
paces, when the prisoner turned round and looked to-
wards the outer lock. Witness cast his eyes in the same
direction, and when he turned round again the prisoner
bad disappeared.
Mr. Wontner said the case was a remarkably weak
one in all its circumstances. Any person on board the
Honduras, and it was proved there were thirty or forty
persons on board, might have stolen the brandy and con-
cealed it in the lug-boat, and it would be a violent pre-
sumption to suppose the prisoner was the thief, because
he left the dock suddenly.
Mr. BALLANTINE could not believe any thief would
be so disinterested as to steal brandy from a ship,andgive
it to some one else. The facts were sufficient for the de-
cision of a jury, and he committed the prisoner fur trial.
The investigation created great interest.