The Sun.
London, England, 1829-10-03 00:00:00

GUILDHALL

Two draymen, named Gurnett and Harwood, in
the employ of Messrs. Woodward, brewers, Devon-
shire-street, Lambeth, were charged with assaulting
\lr. Alderman Waithman, and obstructing and
annoying hi•n in passing over Blackfriars-bridge
his gig, on Tuesday last.
Mr. Alderman Waithman said he had made this
complaint more for the sake of the public than him-
self; and it was one which, as a Magistrate, he could
not overlook. Being quarter-day, there were several
vans laden with furniture passing through the streets,
;Ind on reaching the bridge, he found a dray before
him, and saw that he could pass it, and come
with a line of carriages going in the same direction.
Observing his intention to cut in before him, an
man who was driving kept touching his horses to
quicken his pace and close up the line. When
complainant's gig had got before the dray-wheels, a
cart came up in the opposite direction, and the
danger of being crushed between the two becoming
apparent, he called to the drayman repeatedly to
stop, and allow him to get into the lice; but he
drove on regardless of consequences, and but for
the exertions of the carman au accident must have
happened. As it was, the gig-shafts were only
grazed, and the horse flurried. He should not have
troubled himself about this, but the defendants pro-
ceeded to make use of a deal of snarling irritating
language to excite the laughter of some low black-
guards, who, no doubt, would have been still better
pleased if a limb had been broken, or the gig jam-
med to pieces. Complainant then alighted, and
said he must take their number, which they en-
deavoured to prevent by driving on, till he seized
the horse's head, and then Harwood collared him
and shook him till his great coat came open ; indeed,
he expected every moment to be struck by him.
He did succeed in getting the address, but could
not take the number. One of the defendants was
riding on the shafts, which was illegal. He could
not find any officer on the bridge to assist him.
Mr. Osman, of St. John-street, corroborated the
Alderman's statement.
The defendants denied that the gig got before the
body of the dray, and said that as they were in a line
wit!, , and not far from, the string of carriages going
the same way, they were not bound to stop; and
Harwood, with regard to the assault, declared that
he laid his hands very gently on the Alderman's
collar, and that he did this because he was backing
the horse, which had a knack of cutting open one
of his hind feet with his fore ones, when so backed.
Mr. Alderman BIRCH, the sitting Magistrate, said
he wished their defence had been of a different na-
ture—that they had admitted the truth, and apolo-
gized for their misconduct. If this complaint had
been made by any other individual than a Magis-
trate, he should have fined the defendants twice as
much as he now intended to do. The penalty was
lessened, that they and the public might not sup-
pose that because the charge had been made by a
Magistrate, the offence was punished with severity.
He therefore fined them only 10s. each.
The defendants paid the fine.
BOW-STREE f.

Yesterday Mr. William Wiltshire, a Barbary mer-
chant, residing in Conduit-street, Regent-street, and
Mr. Archibald Robinson, his managing cleric, appear-
ed to answer to a charge of assault and false impri-
sonment, preferred against them on the day previous
on behalf of Moses Delavante, a Barbary Jew, lately
in the service of Mr. Wiltshire.

Mr. J. Isaacs appeared for the complainant, and
called forward an interpreter named Cohen, who un-
dertook to render into English the evidence of the
complainant, who made his statement in the Arabic
language.

The complainant having been sworn on the 01(1
Testament, said, that he was at present residing at
No. 7, Castle-street, How:dsditch, and had till
lately been in the service of Mr. Wiltshire as his
domestic servant, having accompanied him from
Mogadore in that capacity. On Saturday week the
two defendants called him into a room in the house
of Mr. Wiltshire's brother, at Hoxton, and there
told him, that if he did not sign a paper which was
placed before them, they would hang or kill him:—
They then asked him about Jacob Banatah, who
had his hands cut off at Mogadore; and told him,
that if he did not tell every thing he knew about
what had occurred there, they would serve him in
the same way. They then locked him in the room,
where he was confined between two and three hours.

Mr. MINSHULL said, that he did not exactly Pee
that this statement bore out the charges against the
defendants.

Mr. HALLS observed that the offence appeared to
him to be the forcing of the complainant, by threats,
to sign some paper.
Mr. MiNsnum, directed the interpreter to ask the
complainant whether he had been forced by the de-
fendants to sign a paper against his will, and what
the document contained.
The complainant replied in the affirmative. .

Mr. Wiltshire, in reply to the charge, said that
the complainant had lived in his service for the last
four years anti upwards. About ten months ago he
brought him to this country from Mogadore. Be.
sides the complainant, he (Mr. Wiltshire) had in
his service, while he resided with his family at Mo-
gadore, two other male domestics. One of them
was named Jacob Banatah, and the other was a boy
named Selimo. Some time previous to his leaving
Mogadore he discovered that money had been stolen
from the iron chest in his counting-house, by what
means he could not at the time discover. He left
Mogadore in December last, with his wife and fa-
m;ly, accompanied by the complainant. Soon after
his arrival in England, Mr. Robinson returned to
Mogadore, and had with him a bag containing 200
dollars. Six of these he had taken out for his own
use, and soon after he missed 10 dollars from the
bag, and afterwards six more. Upon this Mr. Ro-
binson called the servants together, and sooner than
subject themselves to be charged before the Go-
vernor, they made up the 16 dollars between them.
Some time after this had taken place, Mr. Robinson
happened to be down stairs, and discovered Banatah
the cook, in the act of applying a false key to a chest
where money was deposited. Mr. Robinson imme-
diately caused the cook to be taken into custody,
and had him brought before the Governor to whom I
he confessed that his fellow-servants and himself had
been for several months carrying on a system of rob-
bery, by means of false keys. The Governor find-
ing that Mr. Robinson, according to the Mahotne-
dan laws of that country, was determined to bring the
matter before the Emperor of Morocco, determined to
decide the case himself; and, accordingly, having the
confession of Banatah before him, he ordered him to
be brought out of prison, and had both his hands cut
off agreeably to the law respecting theft. Banatah
died in prison soon after.
Mr. HALLS hoped that if such were the law of
Mogadore, it would never be introduced into this
country.
Mr. Wiltshire continued his statement, and said
that about two months ago he received information
from Mogadore of the circumstances which occurred
there after his departure. He was then residing in
Egham. He came to town on the 17th of Sept.,
Mr. Robinson having arrived from Mogadore on the
previous Sunday. From that gentleman he learned
a more detailed account of the robbery; and the
next morning, after breakfast, he took the com-
plainant with him to the house of his brother, who
resides at Hoxton. On his arrival there he took the
lad into the counting-house, and told him in Arabic
that if he gave him the full particulars of the robbe-
ries of which himself and fellow-servants had been
guilty, he (Mr. Wiltshire)pledged him his word and
honour that no confession which he should make
should operate aganst him on his return to Moga-
dore. The complainant then confessed, in presence
of him (Mr. Wiltshire) and Mr. Robinson, the sys-
tem of plunder which had been carried on in Moga-
dore. Ile said that the cook had had false keys, by
means of which he had access to all the property.
Ile then described minutely the manner in which the
cook, Selimo, and himself used to act, and enume- I

rated a great variety of valuable articles which they
had stolen. He (Mr. Wiltshire) then took pen, ink,
and paper, and wrote down the complain,,,t's con-
fession. Ile then read it over to him, once in
Arabic, and once in English, and the complainant
siened the paper without the slightest compulsion.
They then took a coach and returned home, and the
complainant continued in his service a week after,
during which time he had the perfect use of his
liberty, going out several times with his (Mr. Wilt-
shire's) youngest child, and a promise was made to
him that Mrs. Wiltshire should not be informed of
the part which he had acted in Mogadore. On the
Monday week after the above conversation, the Com-
plainant obtained permission to go out for a holyday,
in order to celebrate one of the Jewish festivals,
which happened upon that day. He went out and
did not return, nor did he (Mr. Wiltshire) hear any
thing of him until he read in a morning paper of that
day, that the complainant had been before Sir R.
13iinie, at Bow-street ; upon reading which he im-
mediately came to this office, to meet any charge that
might be preferred against him.
Mr. MlNsuuLt.—Now, Sir, having heard your
statement, I require you to produce the paper which
the complainant has sworn you forced him to sign.
Mr. Wiltshire produced a paper, and the Magis-
trate desired the Clerk to read it. The paper pur-
ported to be the confession of the complainant, and
described various thefts in which the cook, the boy
Selimo, and himself, had been concerned.
Mr. J. Isaacs asked Mr. Wiltshire whether the
object of the document was not to furnish evidence
to prosecute the boy Selimo at Mogadore ?
Mr. Wiltshire acknowledged that the paper was
for that purpose.
Mr. MINSHULL said, if that were the case, the
charge, in his opinion, assumed a very serious shape.
It was not to be tolerated that a confession should
be wrung from an individual in a free country like
this, in order to ground a prosecution for felony in a
distant part of the world.
Mr. HALLS—And where, it appears, they think
very little of cutting off a man's hands, which would
most likely be the fate of the boy Selimo, if this
confession were forwarded to Mogadore.
Mr. MiNstnni. said he should certainly feel it his
duty to detain the paper, which he considered to
be a document of an illegal description. He then
directed the interpreter to ask the complainant again
whether he had signed the paper through fear.
The complainant declared positively, that he sign-
ed his name through fear either that he should be
hanged or have his hands cut off.
Mr. Wiltshire's brother declared that the com-
plainant was unworthy of belief.
" And vet," said Mr. HALLS, "you think his
credit good enough to make a confession which
might cause the death of a fellow-creature."
Mr. MINSHULL observed, that the offence in his
opinion, was one of a very aggravated nature. The
complainant, no matter what was his country, was
here under the protection of English laws, and it
was a gross breach of those laws to endeavour by
threats to force him to an act that might compass
the death of a third party.
Mr. Wiltshire denied that he had used any threats,
and said that there was a conspiracy among the
Jews, amongst whom the prisoner was now living,
to get money from him.

Mr. Isaacs denied that there was any conspiracy,
and said that the complainant's statement spoke for
itself.

A Moorish gentleman, attired in the costume of
his country, wko has resided in this country for
many years, was called forward by Mr. Wiltshire,
to prove that the complainant had made a similar
confession to that which Mr. Wiltshire had obtained
in writing, subsequently to the date of that instru-
ment. He failed, however, to prove that fact.
Mr. MINSUULL then said, that he would not go
into the matter any further. Enough had been
proved before him to warrant him in calling upon
both defendants to put in bail, which must be to a
considerable amount, as the offence was one of a
very serious nature. He should call upon both
gentlemen to fine two sureties, who would be hound
for their appearance elsewhere in the sum of 2.501.,
and they must also give bail themselves in 5001.
each. This was the moat favourable point of view
in which he could consider the offence of which they
had been guilty.
The defendants found the required bail, and were
liberated.