The Sun.
London, England, 1827-04-16 00:00:00

GLOCESTER, APRIL 13.

The Judges attended divine service this morning,
and afterwards went into their respective Courts.
Louisa Biwa., aged 18, was indicted for being a
common uttererof false and counterfeit coin. A second
count charged the prisoner with a single uttering:.
Mr. SHEPHERD.—The prisoner is indicted for ut-
tering two counterfeit shillings, on Saturday, the
24th of March last, to Maria Nicholls, and with ut-
tering on the same day two other counterfeit shil-
lings to Ww. Warfield, knowing the same to be
counterfeit. If I can prove this, the law makes her
a common utterer. Her mode was in each instance
the same : she went into two shops, bought trifling
articles, for which she offered a good half-crown, and
received in change 2s. and some halfpence. Then
she said she found she had got halfpence enough to
pay for what she had bought, and requested to have
her half-crown again, and gave two bad shillings in
the place of the good ones.

,~ ..~

Maria Nicholls—My husband is a butcher at
Kingsdown. On Saturday evening, the 24th of
March, before eight o'clock, the prisoner came into
my shop and bought 2d. worth of lights. She gave
me half a crown. I gave her two shillings ; and
whilst I was counting out the halfpence, she said
she would not change, and I gave her back the half-
crown, and she gave me two bad shillings, which I
put in my left hand pocket, whei-e there was no
money, except a crooked sixpence. I discovered
they were bad in about a quarter of an hour after-
eiards. The shillings I had given were good. I
took the bad shillings in the parlour, wrapped them
up in paper, and put them on the mantel-piece, and
left them until last Saturday, the 7th of April. I
then kept them myself. I did not mark them. They
are infamous shillings. (Witness produced the shil-
lings.) lam sure they are the same shillings the
prisoner gave me. I never showed them to any one.
My husband, my son, and my daughter, only live in
the house : we have no lodgers.
Mr. Baron VAUGHAN—This evidence is very loose.
1.1 had better in similar cases lock up by itself the
money you take. Is there any thing you know them
by?
Witness—The mark round the inner circle is very
remarkably black.

Wm. Warfield—On the 24th March the prisoner
came into my mistress's shop; before coming in she
was with another girl, but came in alone ; she asked
what bread was a quartern ; I said 7i,d.; she asked
for isalf-a-quartern loaf, and put down half-a-crown ;
I took the half-crown to I\irs. Clarke, who keeps the
shop, who was in the inner room, and she gave me
two shillings and some !Wipe-Ace, which I carried to
the prisoner ; I looked at the two shillings I received
from Mrs. Clarke; they were both bright and clear,
and one had a lion and crown upon it ; I carried the
money to the prisoner, who was standing close to
the door with one foot out, and gave it to her; she
.aid she had rather have the half-crown again, for
she found she had halfpence enough to pay for the
iced, and she put two shillings and the halfpence in
may hand; I went back to Mrs. Clarke, gave them to
her, and she gave me the half-crown; hut before I
could reach to give the half-crown to the prisoner,
Mrs. Clarke ran out, and said, " This is not my
money; what I gave were good." Two shillings
were produced to the witness. These are not the
shillings I received from Mrs. Clarke, one of those
I received from her had the lion and crown upon it.
Mrs. Clarke—l gave Wartield two shillings and
twopence farthing. One of the shillings had a crown
and lion. Warfield brought two shillings back, and
the twopence farthing. I gave him the half-crown.
;saw the two shillings were bad, and ran into the
shop and said to the prisoner " This is not the
money." I told her she had a parcel of bad money
about her, and I would send for a constable. I was
present when she was searched. No money was
found upon her. The two bad shillings were pro-
duced. I have kept them ever since by themselves.
I never afterwards saw the two shillings I gave the
prisoner. I kept the half-crown. I live in the
county, and Mr. Nicholls lives also in the county of
Gloucester.
Mrs. Thomas—The prisoner came to me on the
24th of March last, and bought an article for 2d.,
and gave me half-a-crown. I. gave her 2s. 4d. She
picked up the 2s. and put them•in her pocket, and
then said, she had rather not change her half-crown,
she had halfpence. I gave her the half-crown back,
and she put in my hand 25., which I thought were
the same. The till was open, and I put them in at
the end by themselves. She seemed to tremble as
she went out, SO I looked at the shillings, and found
they were both bad, and not what I had given her.
I have never parted with them.
The prisoner in her defence said her friends had
employed counsel.
Mr. JUSTICE—A scrap of paper has just been put
into my hands. I told the person I could be of no
service, but if your Lordship would allow me, I will
beg to ask a question of a juryman.
Mr. Baron VAUGHAN—Certainly.
Mr. JUSTICE—WouId you have known the shil try
-
lings had been bad if you had not tried them ? tra
The Juryman—They are exceedingly well exe- no
cuted, and I could not easily have told. dit
Mr. JUSTICE—My Lord, if I had been aware, ITi
would have attended to the case.
TI
Mr. Baron VAr:GILtN—No time is lost that is an
spent in administering justice, and therefore you can fat
have the witnesses recalled, and ask them any pies- be‘
tion you like. His Lordship read over all the evi- for
dence to Mr. Justice. Bre
Mr. JUSTlCE.—Gentlemen, I am sure you will
not press hard upon a prisoner so young as this, and ne,
who,:s suspected by her trembling, for that is an in-
tal
dication of virtue, which every innocent person
would feel. Had she been initiated in crime, expe-
rience would have given her hardihood, for repeated
acts of guilt invariably destroy all moral sensibility.
She evinces the feeling of an innocent person, and
is there a clearer proof of guilt ? I appeal to you as
a matter of experience, whether, haring taken such
shillings as these, you would, upon such slight marks,
know them so as to be able to swear to them with
certainty. While the case was going on I took up
the shillings and compared them with two of my own,
and I could not have believed it possible there could
have been so good an. imitation. Mrs. Clarke may
be mistaken, in which case the prisoner is innocent ;
and you will not convict her if you entertain any
eeeee of Mrs. Clarke's accuracy.
Mr. Baron VAuGHAN.--This has been a most
prolific half-crown. You well consider the general
conduct of the prisoner, and unless it makes you irre-
sistibly conclude she is guilty, you will acquit her.
Verdict—Guilty.
Mr. Baron AL"
Glut-N.—You are to be imprisoned
V
Six months in the Penitentiary and kept to hard
labour, and find sureties for your good behaviour for
nix months further.

SATURDAY, APRIL 14.
Dutton Clarke, aged 42, was indicted for arson, at
Ilaisey Hampton, on the 14th of November.
The Jury returned a verdict of "Not Guilty.
The same prisoner, Dutton Clarke, was indicted
for having on the same 13th of November, at Fair-
ford, stolen two cheeses, the property of Henry
Tovey.
Mr. Ji:yricE observed, the prisoner stood before
the jury as a new man, no more implicated in the
last charge than himself or any of the jury.
Henry Tovey-1 live at Fairford, and keep a
eheesepress in a shed adjoining my dwelling-house.
NT Sarah Mills--At five o'clock in the evening of
°eueday, the 13th of November, there were two
them e 1
aserns in the vat in the press in the shed. I made
yself. About 11 in the evening, I heard a
though a vat had dropped. I rose about