The Sun.
London, England, 1845-01-09 00:00:00

CENTRAL CRIMINAL COURT

OLD COURT.

(Before Mr. Justice PATTESON and Mr. Justice EaLE.)
POST-OFFICE ROBBERY.—Robert Hodgson, a most re-
spectable looking man, aged 53, was placed at the bar,
charged with stealing Is. 10d., the property of her Ma-
jesty's Postmaster-General.
The Solicitor-General, Mr. Shepherd, and Mr. Adol-
phus, appeared for the prosecution ; and Mr. Wilkins
defended the prisoner.
From the statement on the part of the prosecution, it
appeared that the prisoner was a grocer at Walthamstow,
and also the keeper of the post office there. In Decem-
ber last a letter was taken to his house, directed for an
individual in Calcutta. The party taking the
letter paid for it Is., and the prisoner, on seeing
that the letter was not directed ria Southampton dis-
covered that he had made a mistake in the charge he
had made, as the charge ought to have been Is. 10d.
instead of Is. The party who took the letter
to the office thought there was something wrong
i❑ consequence of the small charge that had been made.
An investigation took place, and Mr. Scultborpe, one of
the Directors of the General Post-office, accompanied by
an officer connected with the Post-office, went
down to the house of the prisoner, asked
if he had not received a letter addressed to
Calcutta, to which the prisoner replied that he had, but
that he bed forgotten to send it in consequence of his
having asked too little postage, and had placed it in a
drawer till he had sent for the extra postage. The officer
searched the house and found the letter iu the drawer,
in which many of the prisoner's letters were. On the
letter being discovered, the prisoner said he had placed
it there for safety, and had forgotten to dispatch it with
the other letters.
This was the case for the prosecution.
Mr. WILKINS addressed the jury on behalf of the
prisoner, and a vast number of witnesses, among whom
were many clergymen, who had known the prisoner for
upwards of thirty years,: gave him a most excellent cha-
racter.

The SOLICITOR-GENERAL replied.
Mr. Justice PATTESON summed up, and
The jury found the prisoner Guilty, with a strong re-
commendation to mercy.
The prisoner was then sentenced to be imprisoned for
one year, without hard labour. _

Jeln Green, 36, and Anne Green, his daughter, aged
9, were indicted for feloniously making counterfeit coin.
In a second count the prisoners were charged with felo-
niously colouring counterfeit coin to resemble silver.
Mr. Ellis and Mr. Bodkin appeared on behalf of the
anthorities of the Mint.

The circumstances under which the charge was made
against the prisoners were these :—Sergeant Brennan, of
the G division of police, in consequence of information
he received, went to the apartment occupied by the male
prisoner and his family, and as he was about to enter,
the little girl came out and clung to him, at the same
time calling out, " Father ! father !" The sergeant dis-
engaged himself from her and ran up stairs, when he was
met by the man, who rushed upon him and struck him,
at the same time saying, " Sergeant Brennan, you —,
you have not got me yet, you —;" and a severe strug-
gle took place, but eventually another constable came to
his assistance, and the man was secured. During the
struggle the little girl made herself very active in at-
tempting to convey away counterfeit coin, and the con-
stables took a considerable quantity away from her.
The officers eventually found sixty-one counterfeit half-
crowns, and forty counterfeit shillings, the whole of
which turned out to be made of some soft white metal,
coated with silver by the electrotype procas. In the
prisoner's room there were also found his electro-gal-
vanic batteries and a number of bottles and vessels con-
taining liquids for the purposes of the plating process.
The man, in his defence, asserted that the articles
found in his room had been placed there for the purpose
of entrapping him, and that he was innocent.
The jury found the male prisoner Guilty, and Acquitted
the little girl.
The prisoner begged for mercy on account of his
having a wife and a young family.
Mr. Justice PATTESON told the prisoner that he should
have thought of his family before he committed the
offence; it was one of a very serious character, and but
a few years ago would have subjected him to capital
punishment, and that sentence had been carried out in a
great many cases. The Court, therefore, felt called upon
to pass a severe sentence, which was, that the prisoner
be transported for fifteen years.
Benjamin Lambourne, 44, was indicted for feloniously
forging and uttering a bill of exchange for 150/., being
two forged indorsements, with intent to defraud the
Directors of the Commercial and General Insurance
Company and Loan Society.
Mr. BALLANTINE conducted the prosecution.
The facts of the case have been recently very fully
reported. and it will therefore be unnecessary to repeat
them.—The jury returned a verdict of Guilty.
The prisoner was recommended to mercy by the pro-
secutors, and the Court sentenced him to be imprisoned
for two years.

POLICE INTELLIGENCE.
(YESTERDAY.)
MANSION-HOUSE.

A man, whose name appeared upon the prisoners'
list as Sinops Kent, was brought before the Lord
Mayor, upon self-accusation, of a very serious offence.
Mr. Bush, of the firm of Bush and Mallows, solicitors
to the Committee of Bankers for protectio a against
forgeries and frauds, attended for the prosecution.
The prisoner, who was undefended, seemed to be in a
state of extreme dejection.
Robert Starling, policeman No. 157 of the A divi-
sion of Metropolitan Police, stated that a t twelve
o'clock on Tuesday night, at Charing-cross, the pri-
soner, after looking at him for a moment, :said, " I
can hear it no longer ; you must take me in charge."
Witness asked him upon what grounds, to which he
replied, " For sending a threatening letter t( ) Messrs.
Prescott and Grote, the bankers." The prisoner then
put into his hands a seal, with which he said he had
impressed the wax on the letter he had sela t to the
bankers. Witness took the prisoner into custody.
The prisoner likewise said, upon being taken into
custody, that it was to save other parties he had
done it.

The LORD MAYOR—Do you wish to ask this wit-
ness anything, or to say anything? The prisoner—
Nothing.
Mr. Bush stated that the following extr: iordinary
letter had been received by a gentlen.an in the esta-
blishment of Messrs. Prescott and Co. The put-mark
was 8 at night, 6th January, 1845 :

" 6th Dec smber.
" Messrs.,—A plan has been arranged for the pur-
pose of firing your bank, and which you cannot. prevent,
however strict you may keep watch, unless you consent
to pay the party 1001. within one month, na melt', 501
immediately, which you must inclose in a letter directed
to Mr. John Wright, and send without fail to-morrow
morning, by twelve o'clock, to the Angel Inn, Islington,
to be left there until called for. Unless this is complied
with, woe betide you. It will be foilly of your at tempting
to discover the parties, for if you do so you will be plac-
ing your lives at stake. Avert the fate which now hangs
over you. I say, be warned, and comply with. the de •
mands now made.—Yours, &c.,

" SINOPS E ENT.