The Sun.
London, England, 1845-09-03 00:00:00

L41118E711.

On Monday evening Frederick Drury and Michael Benson
were brought before Mr. Henry, the former on a charge of
robbing his employer, and the latter, who is a constable of
police, with not only waiting the commission of the act, but
partaking of the plunder.
After stating the outline of the case, which he described to
be one of considerable public importance, Mr. Games called
Mr. Noble, proprietor of the Dover Castle, Marsh-gate, who
deposed that the prisoner Drury had been in his service, as
barman, for six weeks, and upon entering it he had received a
good character with him from Mr. Silcox. On Friday last,
between the hours of one and two o'clock, Mrs. Noble gave
him ( witness) the package of silver then produced, and before
he had time to get to the counter, the prisoner Benson, who
was standing before it, left the house. Soon after, Benson sent
in a man to request he would send the package of silver he had
placed on the counter to him, but which he refused to do ; and
soon atter the same man came in with the note produced, and
while reading that note, the messenger, who had gone away. on
the delivery of the first, returned with a second note. He (wit-
ness) desired him to send in the man that claimed it, and the
prisoner Benson was pointed out to him as the person who
had sent it. He was then walking up and down in front of
the house, and in a few moments after he ( Benson) came in
and claimed the money. He (Mr. Noble) asked him why he
had not claimed it directly it had been found on the counter,
and he replied he did not like to do so. He then asked him
where he had got the money, and he replied, he had received it
in change from one of his young men ; but upon being asked
to point out the particular person he had got it from, he mulct
nut do so. He again requested the money, but Mr. Noble
refused to give it up without making some inquiry into the
matter, and desired him to call on Monday (that day). He
did call, and in reply to a question from the in •pector, who had
been awaiting his arrival, and who took him into custody,
witness distinctly heard him say he had received the silver he
had lest in the house of Mr. Watchorn, opposite, on the
Friday, though he distinctly told him (Mr. Noble) on the
former occasion, that he had received the change from one of
his young men.
Nathaniel Larnmercroft, a butcher, of No. 2, Lower Marsh,
Lambeth, deposed that on Friday last, between the hours of
one and two o'clock he went through the private entrance to the
house of Mr. Noble, and saw a small package of silver placed
at the hack of the engine. He took it up and handed it to
the ieisoner Drury, oho gave it to his mistress, and witness at
the timr. addressing llrs. Noble, said " I suppose this belongs
to you?" Upon which the prisoner Benson said, " I have seen
that parcel lying there all the time I have been here." Wit-
ness had been to the house of the prosecutor about three-
quarters of an hour before, when he observed to the prisoner
Benson that he was perfectly satisfied the package was not
'here he had found it. _ .

In reply to a question from Mr. Games,,the witness said he
was pee fe-tly convinced the prisoner Benson used the expres-
sionshrhad mentioned.
Thomas Howard Rogers, an inspector of the L division
of psilice, said he was at the house of Mr. Noble that slay, when
the prisoner Benson came there, and after taking him into
custody, brought him into the bar-parlour, where Drury was.
He produced two letters, and asked him if he was the writer
of them. He ( Benson) replied he was. He then asked him
if he lived at 127, Oxford-street, to which he replied no. He
then asked him if he was a policeman, and he said his number
was 142, S division, and that he resided at the Plicenix-street
station-hou e. He also said that he asked him where he had
received the money he claimed from Mr. Noble as his, and he
replied he had got the silver in change over the way at Mr.
Watchorn's. Before the arrival of Benson the prisoner Drury
said he wished to make a confession, and said, " I wish to tell
the truth." He also said, " I acknowledge to have told lies,"
but that he then wished to tell the truth. He said he had
placed the money where it had been found by the butcher,
to give to Benson, who is at present in the police, and
belonging to the S division. He further said he had taken
two shillings out of the till to make the silver up a pound, to
lend to Benson,
John Stockman deposed that he had been sent to the house
of Mr. Noble on Friday last with two letters, which were the
same produced, and said it was with great difficulty he could
prevail upon the prisoner to go into the house of Mr. Noble on
the Friday.
The prisoner Drury, after being duly cautioned, stated that
he had last lived at Mr. Silcox's, Kentish-town, where he had
been for two years, and before that with Mr. Bennett, Gros-
venor-square, about the same period. He did not, he
said, wish to say more than he had already stated. Mr.
Benson asked him to lend him a sovereign, and he told him
that if he came on Friday he would if he could. He wrote to
say he wished to have it, and came on Friday, when he
(Drury) put the money down. He did not think Benson saw
it. He did take two shillings out of the till to make it up
a pound.
Benson, who was also cautioned, said he had been foi
nearly five years-in the S division of Police, and wanting a so-
vereign, had written to Drury to lend him one. He sent him
word that if he called on Friday he could have it. He went to
Mr. Noble's on the Friday, and called for a glass of ale, and
tendered sovereign in payment. Saw Drury place the
change in a parcel on the counter for him to take. He had a
second glass of ale, and, was reading the paper, when the
butcher came in and picked tap the parcel, which
he gave to one of the young men, being so engaged in
reading the paper that he had forgotten Drury had left the
money on the counter for him. Drury told him, the mo-
ment the money was picked up, that he had placed it there.
He also said how foolish it was of him, for that he had placed
the money there for me. Then fearing that he should be the
loser, and make him (Benson) pay the money again, he sent
the witness Stockman to ask for the money he had placed
there. He considered it was his, as Drury had placed it there
for him, and he was to have returned the pound to him that
day. The reason be had told Mr. Noble he got the money
from one of his barmen, and signed himself in the letter " J.
0. Benson," instead of Michael Benson, was, that he did not
wish him to know that a policeman should borrow money from
his servant.
Mr. Noble was re-called, and distinctly swore the prisoner
Benson declared he bad got the change at the house over the
way.
The butcher also repeated that the prisoner, when he took
up the money, said he had not seen the package all the time he
was there.
This was the whole of the evidence, and upon it Mr. HENRY
said he should send both prisoners for trial, but would remand
them t o a future day.
The prisoner Benson repeatedly applied to Mr. Henry to be
admitted to bail, but the magistrate refused it.
The prisoners were then remanded to Monday next, and Mr.
Henry directed that they should be kept apart till that day.

TH 4111 ES.
Gabriel Pean, a sailor, was brought before Mr. Broderi

charged with intermarrying with Jan;Cox, a widow, while his
first wife was living.
The magistrates have been frequently troubled with the pri-
soner, who is ene of the most desperate characters in the dis-
trict. He has been repeatedly fined i • and afew weeks since he
was held to bail to keep the peace for six months, for annoy-
ing and threatening his second wife, who then believed she was
legally married to him. It was proved on that occasion that
he had broken up the woman's home and hunted her through
the streets.
Hale, a police-constable, 373 K, proved the apprehension of
the prisoner on Monday night, and stated that upon acquaint-
ing him with the nature of the charge, he said he did not
think his first wife would appear against him, and no one knew
where she lived. Hale quickly undeceived him, and said he
had seen the first wife last week, and be knew her address.
The constable produced the certificate of the marriage of the
prisoner to Rebecca Watkins, spinster, at Shadweli Church on
the Ist of February, 1842, and another of the marriage of the
prisoner to Jane Cox, widow, at Rotherhithe Church, on the
tlh2et hof
marriage August,
r e g
38t4e He b
oks
ihadn b comparedoth
churches,t he
andert i
ffiocuant
de s
themwi t h
to correspond. He knew both wives were living.
The second wife, an attenuated creature, who appeared to
have suffered greatly from hard living and bad usage, said it
was her misfortune to marrry the prisoner at Rotherhithe
Church in August, 1843, and she had frequently been ill-used
by her husband. He represented himself as a single man when
he paid his addresses to her. He was at the present time under
recognisances to keep the peace towards her. The woman,
who is very respectably connected and has seen better days,
said she had seen nothing but misery since she had known the
prisoner.
The prisoner, on being called upon for his defence, addressed
the magistrate at great length in a very energetic manner. He