The Sun.
London, England, 1844-10-26 00:00:00

CRIMINAL COURT—YESTERDAY
OLD COURT.
(Before Mr. Justice MAULE and Mr. Baron RoLIT.)
The prisoners Cooper, Weston, and Jackson, who
were tried on Thursday, and the two former con-
victed of a very cruel robbery in the house of a per-
son named Blundell, were again arraigned upon an-
other indictment, charging them with stealing two
watches, the property of Thomas Tanner.
Mr. Simon prosecuted, and Mr. Ballantine de-
fended Cooper.
The case was clearly made out, itappearing that
all the prisoners went to the house of the prosecutor,
who keeps a coffee-shop in Grafton-street, Soho, and
they were observed to leave very abruptly. Imme-
diately afterwards the property was missed, and the
two watches were afterwards found in the possession
of one of the prisoners.
The jury returned a verdict of Guilty; and Wes-
ton and Jackson were sentenced to be transported for
fifteen years, and Cooper for ten years.
James Carruthers, 20, a young man of very re-
spectable appearance, was indicted for feloniously
sending a letter, containing threats and menaces, with
a view to extort money from Miss Georgiana Angelina
Burdett Coutts.
In other counts the intent was laid to be to de-
fraud Mr. E. Marjoribanks, and other gentlemen,
partners in the firm of Coutts and Co., the bankers.
Messrs. Bodkia and Doane conducted the prosecu-
tion ; and Mr. Clarkson appeared for the prisoner.
It appeared from the statement of the Learned
Counsel, and the evidence that was adduced, that on
the 2d September a letter, addressed "J. Coutts,
Esq., was received at the bank, the contents of which
were to the effect that a set of men of desperate cha-
racters in London, who were driven by distress to a
state of perfect recklessness and desperation, had re
solved to possess themselves of the property of Mr. J.
Coutts; that the writer of the letter had accidentally
become acquainted with their intention, and had
been bound to secrecy by the most solemn oaths ' •
he had, however, resolved to prevent the mischief,
and if 1001. in gold were given to him he should be
able to do so ; and he suggested that if his request
was complied with, the following advertisement should
be inserted in the Times :—" C. C. informs D. D.
that his request has been complied with, and
that, on the evening of the same day, the amount,
wrapped in a parcel, should be sent by a boy to the
Monument, where the writer would be in waiting to
receive it." A parcel, containing a half-crown, was
accordingly made up, and a boy dispatched with it
to the place directed, two policemen being sent to
watch. The prisoner made his appearance and
snatched the parcel from the boy, and ran off and
succeeded in making his escape. The next day
another letter, in the same handwriting, was received
at the bank, in which the writer complained severely
of the proceeding of the previous day, and went on to
state that the persons before alluded to were very
much exasperated, and threatened the destruction of
Mr. J. Coutts, and four other gentlemen, and that
they would certainly carry out their threats unless
they received 5001. The letter concluded by requiring
1001. to be sent in a parcel, as before requested, to
the Southwark-bridge-road, where the writer would
be in readiness to receive it ; and he added that the
money would be employed in paying the passage-
money of the conspirators to America. A second
parcel, containing money and clay, was made up and
again sent by a boy, and when the prisoner came to
take it, he was secured by Inspectors Pearce and
Haines, of the detective police.
These facts having been proved in evidence,
Mr. CLARKSON took an objection to the indictment,
and contended that the document produced in support
of the prosecution was not a threatening letter within
the meaning of the statute ; he also urged that the
letter being addressed to J. Coutts, Esq., when it ap-
peared there was no such person in existence, the in-
dictment could not be supported. The Learned
Counsel cited some caA in support of his objection.
Mr. Justice MAULE declined to withdraw the case
from the jury, and said the objection, if it was good,
might be made available upon the record, after
verdict.
Mr. CLARKSON then addressed the jury for the
prisoner, and after again alluding to the cases he had
cited in support of his objection, and expressing
his opinion that the present was an exactly similar
one, and that the prisoner was entitled to a
verdict of acquittal upon the technicality, he went on
to argue that the offence the prisoner had committed
only amounted to an attempt to obtain money by false
pretences from the wealthy prosecutors. The Learned
Counsel then proceeded to state that the prisoner at
the bar was respectably connected, but he had latterly
been reduced to a state of great distress, not having
any food to eat or clothes to wear. His father was
in Montreal, and the prisoner's object was to obtain
the money in order that he might be enabled to go
out to that place and join him.
Witnesses were called who confirmed the statement
of the Learned Counsel, and it appeared that the pri-
soner had been engaged in literary pursuits, but had
been gradually declining in circumstances. He had
latterly, it appeared, been in expectation of receiving
an appointment as secretary to a charitable institu-
tion which Lord Ranelagh was anxious to establish
in the metropolis, but in which object, it appeared,
he did not succeed.
The Rev. T. Binney, the minister of the Inde-
pendent Chapel, Fish-street- hill, also spoke to the
former excellent character of the prisoner, and to his
state of destitution latterly. He likewise stated that
Lord Ranelegh had been in attendance all the pre-
vious day to speak to the prisoner's character.
1 Mr. Justice MAULE then summed up, and the jury,
after deliberating for some time, retired, and did not
xeturn into Court until nearly three o'clock, when
they gave the following verdict :—" We find the
prisoner guilty of sending a threatening letter, but
we strongly recommend him to mercy."
Mr. Justice Mauen said he could not receive this
verdict. The prisoner was charged with sending a
threatening letter to Messrs. Coutts and Company,
the bankers, in the Strand, with the intent to obtain
money from them by menaces. The jury should say
whether the letter contained menaces with the intent
alleged, and whether or not the letter addressed
"J. Coutts Esq., banker, Strand," was intended for
Messrs. Coutts, the bankers, and the only bankers of
that name in the Strand, whose names were set forth
in the several counts of the indictment.
The jury then again retired, and were absent nearly
an hour, when they returned a general verdict of
Guilty, coupled with a strong recommendation to
mercy.
Mr. BODKIN begged to say that the prosecutors
had made minute inquiries relative to the prisoner,
and they had reason to believe that the statement re-
lative to his state of distress was quite true, and they
also were anxious to recommend him to mercy.
Sentence was deferred.

POLICE INTELLIGENCE.
(YESTERDAY.)
MANSION-HOUSE.

EXTENSIVE PASSING OF HALVES OF STOLEN
BANK OF ENGLAND NOTES.—William Dobby, a
cutler, residing in Wych-street, Mr. Hurst, a file-
manufacturer, of Greenhill-rents, St. John-street, and
another tradesman of respectability, appeared before
Sir Peter Laurie, for the purpose of disclosing to him
a system of plunder which had been carried on, they
were apprehensive, to a very alarming extent. The
applicants believed that, under existing circum-
stances, their losses were irreparable, but they hoped,
by a statement of the details of the plan to which
they had been victims, to prevent any further success
on the part of those who were concerned in the de-
predation.
Mr. Dobby first stated his case. On the 21st of
September he received from Southampton, by poet,
the following letter, containing the inclosure to which
it referred :

" 104, High-street, Southampton,
20th September, 1844.
"Sir,--Having been recommended to you by a friend,
as being able to serve me with some good table cutlery
at a moderate price, but being an entire stranger to yon
myself, induces me to send you the half of a 51. Bank of
England note, No. 38,347, hoping you will send me by
railway to-morrow, without fail, a set of good ivory
table knives and forks, with desert carvers and chicken
carvers, and steel to match ; also with a few table knives
and forks for kitchen use. Please be attentive to this
and do not fail, and by so doing you will oblige, Sir,
yours, &c., "JAMES EDWARDS.

" James Edwards—Direct 104, High-street."
The half of the bank-note being evidently genuine,
no suspicion was entertained by Mr. Dobby that any
trick was about to be practised upon him, and he
prepared and dispatched the order to Southampton
accordingly with railroad speed. He was, however,
disagreeably surprised at his customer's want of
punctuality in remitting the other half of the note;
and, after the lapse of some days, he mentioned the
circumstance to a friend, who kept a drawing account
at the Bank of England, and also made inquiries upon
the subject, the result of which confirmed the suspicion
occasioned by the delay. That friend wrote to the
authorities at the Bank, stating that the party who
had obtained the goods had failed to send the coun-
terpart, and had left his residence, and as it was sus-
pected that he might have used that portion of the
note to obtain an equal amount of property elsewhere,
a request was made that if the second half of the note
should be presented, under any circumstances, inti-
mation might be given to the correspondent. The
information received from the Bank of England was,
that the half note in question had been stolen with a
great many other half notes, in September, 1843,
from a banker's parcel. passing from Pares and
Co.'s banking-house, in Leicester, to Smith,
Payne, and Smith, London, who, on production of
the counterparts, and giving an indemnity to the
Bank of England, obtained, in December, 1843, pay-
ment of the whole amount. _

Sir P. LAURIE said the trick seemed to be a new
one, and Mr. Dobby was certainly right in giving
publicity to a case of such importance, by appearing