The Sun.
London, England, 1829-09-02 00:00:00

POLICE INTELLIGENCE.

GUILDHALL.
Charles Taphouse, a labouring man, was charged
with assaulting Victoire Watson, a native of France,
who has become a street-walker.

The complainant stated, that as she was standing
on Ludgate-hill, about eleven o'clock on Monday
night, the prisot,ur without the least provocation,
laid hold of and destroyed her bonnet, value 10s.
The prisoner's defence was, that the woman ob-
structed him, and used scandalously indecent lan-
guage to him.
Mr. Williams, one of the Common Councilmen
of Farringdon Within, witnessed the transaction,
which would not have occurred if the watchman had
done his duty, and had not wilfully abstained from
interfering until the altercation ripened into a matter
that he could bring before a magistrate and make a
job of.

Sir PETER LAURIE was aware that the system of
ordering prisoners to pay watchmen for causing them
to lose their time would produce the feeling among
them which Mr. Williams had described as existing
in this case.
Mr. Williams said the bringing up of charges be-
fore the magistrates was so profitable, that it was
calculated among the watchmen themselves that a
beat in Fleet-street was worth a guinea a week
more than one in Holborn. If Pickering had re-
moved the women as soon as they crossed to him,
the assault would not have been committed, but he
puposely waited till something was done. If this
had happened in Farringdon-within, he should have
suspended the watchman instantly; but as it was,
he could oily represent the affair to the Common
Council of the other ward,which he had already done.
Sir P. LAURIE ordered the prisoner to make
some recompense for the damage he had done, upon
complying with which he was discharged.

BOW-STREET.

Yesterday three gentlemen, one of whom was a
solicitor, appeared before the sitting Magistratea;
Mr. HALLS and Sir R. BIRNIE, to ask for advice
and assistance under the following circumstances:—
The solicitor appeared on behalf of a respectable
lady, who was now an inmate of the Fleet prison,
in consequence of a gross breach of trust on the part
of a person who had represented himself to be a so-
licitor, and who, under that representation, had ob-
tained from the lady in question the sum of 10/.,
with a view, as she supposed, of effecting her libe-
ration from a sponging-house, by means of bail.
The lady was arrested about a fortnight ago, and
conveyed to a lock-up house in the neighbourhood of
Blackfriars-road. Having mentioned her desire to
give bail for the debt, a Mr. H. was introduced to
her, and representing himself to be a solicitor, told
her that for 101. he could procure bail, and that in
the evening she might obtain her liberation. He
then left his name and address, and promised to re-
turn in the course of the day. The lady having
mentioned the circumstance to some of her friends,
reference was had to the Law List, but the name
of the person who had represented himself to be a so-
licitor could not be found there. In the course of
the day he returned, and the lady mentioned
to him that she had looked over the Law
List, and could not find his name amongst the
solicitors.—" Oh," said he, " I assure you that I
am a regular solicitor, in proof of which you may see
my certificate," at the same time drawing from his
pocket a piece of parchment, which appeared to be
the document he had mentioned. He then stated
that his connections were most respectable, and men-
tioned the name of a gentleman who had lately
carried on the business of a banker, and to whose
sister he said he had been married within a short
period. Deceived by these representations, and
anxious to obtain her liberation from a place the ex-
pence of which was but ill-suited to her circum-
stances, the lady caused a letter to be written in
her name, to a gentleman belonging to the Admi-
ralty, (Mr. Crofton Croker), requesting, as a par-
ticular favour, that he would send her 10/., which
should be placed to his account, he being a lodger
in, the lady's house at Barnes. The lady having
signed the letter, handed it unsealed to the supposed
solicitor, who lost no time in presenting it to the
gentleman to whom it was addressed, and by whom
he was paid the required 10/. without the slightest
hesitation. The lady fully depending upon the
good faith of her supposed solicitor, made arrange-
ments to return to her home in the evening, but
when the hour arrived at which she expected to be
liberated, no solicitor appeared, and she was obliged
to pass another night in the sponging-house at an
additional expence. The next morning she sent a
friend to the Admiralty, and there learned that the
10/. had been paid in her name to the party who
had brought the letter. She then sent to the ad-
dress of the sham solicitor, but found that he did
not reside there ; and although every exertion was
used to discover his residence in the course of the
day, no tidings could be had of him. Finding that
she had been completely duped, and being totally
unable to bear any longer the heavy expence to
which she had been subjected, she was obliged to
submit to circumstances, and in the evening was con-
veyed to the Fleet prison, where she was still con-
fined. Under these circumstances, the solicitor said
he came to ask advice, and to know if the Magis-
trates would feel any objection to issue a warrant or
summons to compel the appearance of the party of
whose act he had complained.
Sir R. BIRNIE—But you say he is not to be
found ? Solicitor—He does not live at the address
which he gave to the lady, but we know where he
does reside.
Mr. HALLS had some doubts that a criminal
charge would lie against the party.
Sir R. BIRNIE thought that a person obtaining
money in the mariner described was guilty of steal-
ing it. At all events he had been guilty of an act
of gross dishonesty.
Mr. HALLS asked if the party had not obtained
the letter by means of which he possessed himself
of the money, in the county of Surrey:
The Solicitor replied in the affirmative, but added
that the money had been obtained in Middlesex.
Mr. HALLS observed, that application must be
made to the Surrey Magistrates, the offence having
been committed there. The parties then retired.
THE FORGERY UPON THE CUSTOM-HOUSE.—On
Sunday evening Taunton, sen., and Smith, the
principal officers, arrived in London, from Taunton,
in Devonshire, bringing in their custody, two men,
named Maynard and West, whom they apprehended
on the charge of being concerned in committing the
forgery upon the Custom-house, for which a man
named Jones was sent for trial from this office on
last Friday se'nnight.
On Monday afternoon the prisoners underwent an
examination before Sir R. Birnie, when the follow-
ing facts appeared in evidence, the publication of
which may tend to correct the many erroneous state-
ments which have gone forth respecting this case :
It is the practice of the Comptrollers of Customs
at the different outports to make monthly returns to
the Commissioners of the Custom-house in Lon-
don of the receipts and expenditure of their respec-
tive districts, and there are some ports at which the
receipts not only are not sufficient to cover the out-
lay, but which at certain periods of the year requirel
considerable advances from the chief establishment
to defray the current expenses. Where this is the
case the Comptroller of Customs at the port at
which the advance is required, sends up what i 3 called
a " Precept," addressed to time Chief Commissioners,
who sign it, and on its being presented to the Re-
ceiver General, he gives a cheque upon the Bank
of England for the amount required, and it is paid
as a matter of course, and the amount remitted to
the Comptroller in the country, whose duty it is to
send up a receipt by return of post. The Re-
ceiver-General gives the cheque upon seeing the
precept properly signed by the three Commissioners.
On Saturday, between Good Friday and Easter
Sunday, a precept for 1,973/., purporting to be
signed by the Comptroller of Fowey, in Cornwall,
and by Mr. Lushington and two other Commis-
sioners of Customs, was taken to the Receiver-
General, who had no suspicion of the genuineness

of the document, and who signed a cheque upon
the Bank of England for the amount of the precept.
On the same day a man presented the cheque at
the Bank, it was paid in one note of 1,000/.,
for 5001., and four for 50/. each, two for I Oct,
and the rest in .51. notes and sovereigns. The
afternoon, just before the time of closing at 11.
Bank of England, a man presented the same nut.•
for 1,000/., and one of those for 50/., which had been
given for• the cheque from the Receiver-Gen. of Cus-
toms in the morning, and received sovereigns for the
Whole amount. During that same day a young
clerk at the Custom-house happened to have the
precept in question in his hand, and on looking at
the signatures, he expressed a doubt as to that
which purported to be Mr. Lushington's, observing
that the turn of the last letter was of a different
kind from that usually made by that gentleman.
This simple circumstance gave rise to inquiry, and
it was ascertained that the precept had never passed
the: Commissioners, and that their signatures were
forged. Smith, the officer, was immediately sent
for, and on an examination of the forged precept it
was found to be of the same printed form which
was used by order of the Custom-house, and printed
by the printer regularly employed for the etablisli-
merit. At the time that this investigation was go-
ing on, the man Jones, who is now in Newgate as
a principal in the transaction, was present with the
Commissioners, and was actually sent by them to
the printer's, to ascertain if the form of the precept
was printed by him, so little suspicion was then en-
tertained of his having any participation in the for-
gery. In a few days after, the officer ascertained that
one of the .5/. notes, paid at the Bank for the cheque,
had been passed by a baker, near Kennington-com-
mon, to a miller at Dartford, and this note was traced
to have been paid by the mother of a female who
passed by the name of Maynard, and who lived in Cla-
tendon-street, Walworth. Smith upon this set a watch
upon the house where this woman lived,and found that
she and two men, named Maynard and West, with
the wife -of the latter and the mother of the former,
were all lodging together. For more than a month
Smith had two men to watch for Maynard and West
but the blinds were constantly drawn close, and they
never appeared ; and when the females walked our,
their conduct was such as to confirm the suspicions
which Smith had previously entertained. At length,
one morning, when the system of watching had a
little relaxed, the whole party disappeared, but were
traced to Hill-street, Kennington-common ; from
thence back to Walworth ; and finally to Hoxton,
where they bought furniture, arid took apartments
sufficient for the whole, at 1/. Bs. per week. In the
mean time the prisoner Jones had been apprehended,
and, as soon as the statements respecting him had
appeared in the newspapers, Smith's emissaries,
who were still watching the house at Hoxton, saw
symptoms of an intention to remove ; and, yesterday
se'nnight, at an early hour in the morning, a broker
was called in, and bought the goods, and soon after
Mrs. West, Mrs. Maynard (as she is called), and
her mother, with two children and a servant, got
into two hackney coaches, and were driven to the
New North-road, and there put down, and there the
officers lost sight of them. The numbers of the
coaches, however, were known, and it was ascer-
tained on the following day, that the women and
children had gone to the Bull, in Aldersgate•street,
where they were joined by two men, and that they de-
parted for Taunton, by the North Devon coach. Smith
and Taunton left town immediately, and on their ar-
rival -at Taunton, found West, Maynard, and the
whole party at tea at one of the inns. When they
entered the room and made known their business,

West and Maynard showed great alarm, and at-
tempted to escape, but were immediately secured.
Maynard was particularly agitated, and begged the
officers to let him go. The latter ascertained, upon
inquiry, that the whole party were bound to Liver-
pool, and from thence to America. They were
conveyed to London in carriages and four, where the
women Were discharged and the men were brought
up on Monday and re-examined.
West was stated then to be the man ,who got the
note for 1,0001., and that for 50/., changed at the
Bank, and Maynard was proved to have paid one of
the 51. notes received for the original cheque to a
person on the same day that the money was obtained.
Smith and Taunton produced 6971. and some silver,
• which they found in the possession or the prisoners.
West and Maynard denied any participation in
the forgery, and were remanded for further examina-
tion. _ .

In the evening of the same day, Smith took into
custody the woman called Mrs. Maynard, and her
mother, and they were brought before Sir R. Birnie,
and remanded after a short examination.
It was said, but we do not pledge ourselves for
the truth of the statement, that Jones will be ad-
mitted on evidence against West and Maynard.