The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1839-12-10 00:00:00

EXTENSIVE ILLICIT DISTILLATION.

On Friday, at the police-court, an individual named Wil-
liam Thompson Smith, appeared, as defendant, to an in-
formation, exhibitesl against him at the instance of the Board
of Excise, charging him, first, with being the proprietor or
tenant of a house in which illicit distillation was carried on,
and, secondly, with having certain utensils in his possession
for the illicit distillation of spirits.
Mr. Statham appeared as solicitor for the excise, and the
defendant conducted his own cause, assisted by a professional
gentleman.
Mr. Statham, having briefly stated the nature of the charge,
proceeded to call witnesses to the facts ; and, as the case ex-
cited considerable interest in a crowded court, we shall sup-
ply all the material portions ofthe evidence.
Mr. David Scott, being sworn, said, in effect :—From in-
formation I had received, I went to the defendant's house,
in Grosvenor-street, corner of Chaucer-street, which leads
out of Scotland-road. I went into the kitchen, where I saw
Mrs. Smith, the wife of the defendant, who came in imme-
diately afterwards. I told him I had a warrant to search the
house, and he said I was at liberty to do so. I asked him
about the cellar, which I also wanted to search. He told me
it was let to a man, whose name he had on a piece of paper,
but he could not recollect it. He went to look for the paper,
but did not find it. He made no objection to my searching
the house. I first searched up stairs, but found nothing. I
then went into the parlour, which was not occupied. I then
perceived a strong smell of fumes arising from distilled wash,
and told him that a still was in the cellar below. I went to-
wards the cellar, and on my way met with my supervisor,
who had been in the cellar, and said he had found a still.
There was a•bolt to the door of the cellar inside. The cellar
was divided by two partitions, making three compartments.
In the first I found a number of small hampers ; in the se-
cond, an old worn out still ; and in the third, a tin still, with
a copper worm, and several barrels and tubs. There was a
quantity of " low wine" in the tub under the still, about a
gallon (a bottle of which was produced.) In the worm-tub
there was water in a luke-warm state, as if the still Ltd been
recently in use. I took the still head off. Part of it was
taken to the excise-office. There was interior door leading
from the cellar to the house-part under the stair. The bolt,
a common mound iron one, was on the cellar side, and the
seams between it and the door-post were plastered up, cover-
ing partly the door and partly the posts, in a narrow stripe.
The plaster was not strong. There was a window that had
locked into Grosvenor-street, but it was built up with bricks,
which, on my pulling them down to see if anything were be-
hind, came away, the mortar being new, and scarcely set.
The defendant said he once knew of the practice (of distilling)
being carried on in the cellar, before the Chester races, and
that he had let the cellar to a man named M`Laughlin. He
denied all knowledge of the still. I smelt it at first when I
entered the kitchen. There was no furniture in the cellar
showing that it was inhabited. The still, with the worm, was
quite new, or nearly. The old one was worn out ; the bot-
tom was gone.
Cross-examined by the defendant.—The defendant did
not object to my searching the house. Nothing was spilt
before I went into the cellar to make the smell I first per-
ceived. The cellar door leading to the hou-se,was not nailed.
When I put back-the bolt, it easily opened, there being no
hair in the mortar. Defendant said he had given informa-
tion to the police of distilling being previously carried on in
the cellar. The outward door of the cellar, leading into
Chaucer-street, was made up with wood placed diagonally.
John Gennis said,—l am a shoemaker, and lived, in August
list, at the house 'of the defendant, where I occupied two
tocms. Smith lived on the ground or first floor. He (the
defendant) did something in. the sheep-skin way, and a• man
sometimes assisted him. About May last he gave up that
business, and I have not seen him do anything since but sell
his things. A man occupied the cellar in April and May
last. I saw a sough in the scullery adjoining his kitchen,
and a pipe communicating down to the cellar. The pipe was
attached to the water-pipe in the scullery, and taken down to
the cellar. About the beginning of August I saw. a great
smoke come out of the chimney that went from the room I
occupied. There was no fire in any of the rooms in the
house at the time and it must have been from the cellar. I
never spoke to him about it. In the course Of the morning
I saw Mr. Smith come out of the cellar, and in the afternoon
I saw him go into it. I saw smoke afterwards,_ and a heavy
smell as if of wash. It was the same smell I observed, when
the other man was there. On the 12th of August, I got up
before day-light, and took a candle to see where the smell
came from. I went down to the cellar door under the stair
and found the bolt, which I had before seen on the outside,
was removed to the inside of the cellar door, and that it was
fast. I saw no person go out of or into the cellar but
Smith himself. On the 13th of August, I saw the cellar
door locked when I went out ; and when I came back I found
it unlocked. Smith was there at dinner in his shirt sleeves.
He covered up the cellar window. There was a boiler which
was set with old brick, and which he took down.
Cross-examined by the defendant.-1 saw you go into the
cellar on the sth of August. (Some questions were put to
the witness relating to a charge of his having stolen some
coals from the adjoining yard, but it appeared he had merely
borrowed them at an early hour, when he had to be up, and
had returned them.) I have not received any money or pro-
mise of money for appearing here. •
Mr. John Gibson, supervisor of excise, corroborated what
had been stated by the first witness so far as he was present.
On the 14th of August, he went into the cellar of defendant's
house by the door leading from the coal yard. There were two
police officers with him, and they perceived the smell se strong
that they broke in, and found the stills, &c. The water in
the worm-tub was slightly warm. The defendant said he
had let the cellar. The " low wine" was all spilled but the
sample produced, in the tail of the worm.
Mr. Scott, recalled, said that when he entered the house
and saw Mrs. Smith, he asked for the key of the cellar, and
she appeared to look for it on the shelf.
This being the case for the prosecution, the defendant en-
tered upon his defence. He said that he had lived in the
house for a period of ten years, during the last three of which
he was a tenant. He had let the cellar to various parties
(whom he named,) from time to time, and was himself a skin-
ner and fell-monger, by which he had, as he could show, been
enabled to earn a good living.. A female, he should prove,
who lodged in the house before the Chester races, complained
of a very unpleasant smell, and when he found that the then
tenant had been carrying on some illicit distillation, he went
to the police office and gaveinformation to Inspector M`Don-
ald, who, when he arrived, found the cellar empty. He had
latterly let the cellar to an old man, who represented himself
to be a basket-maker, and who had brought with him the
hampers found. It was that person who had blocked up the
window. He then called
Charles Stubbs, who said he had long lodged in the house,
and that the defendant had let the cellar. He had never once
seen the defendant go out of or into the cellar. He lived there
in May, June, and July last. He had, heard ho complaints
•
of a strong smell.
Cross-examined.—I am brother-in-law to the defendant.
Mrs. Taffinder said she kept the coal-yard—the same which
was common to Mr. Smith's house, and she never saw him go
out of or into the cellar. Was present when the cellar was
let to the old gentleman, the basket-maker, who had, on the
day previous to the excise officers coming, borrowed 3d. from
her to make up his rent of 4s. a-week. She saw him on the
Tuesday, the day before the officers came. (The witness was
not very definite in her testimony.)
Wm. Davies, a skinner, said he had assisted the defendant
many a hundred times in his business of a fell monger. There
was a smoke and a strong smell from the stoves in which the
wool was dried. With respect to a boiler which had been
removed, he knew that it was bought by a cooper, and the
bricks with which it had been set, he had bought them him-
self, and sent a person to take them away. (It had been
previously stated by the excise-officer that the cellar window
was made up with old bricks.)
Henry Thompson said that he was a fell monger, and knew
that the defendant dealt largely—that he paid his (witness's)
brother from £2O to £25 a week for skins. The cellar had
been let off to various parties. The business of the defend-
ant, as a fell monger, was quite sufficient to keep him fully
employed.
Mrs. Powell said she lodged in the house, and that the man
who occupied the cellar had come to her and told her what
he was going to do—(to distil)—and had requested her not
to inform, as he bad a large family depending upon him. She
did not inform, as it was no business of hers, and she left the
house in the end of July or beginning of August.
This being the defence, Mr. Rushton said :—William
Thompson Smith, I am clearly of opinion that you must be
convicted on this information. The whole of the evidence
discloses a series of incidents, showing without doubt that
you have carried on an illicit still for a great length of time.
The information given by you to the police was only an in-
genious portion of the fraud, intended to throw the officers
off their guard. It is my duty, under all the circumstances,
to convict you for this offence in the penalty of £2OO.
The prisoner, in default, will, of course, be imprisoned
until the money is paid, or until the Board of Excise may
think fit to release him from gaol. He is a good looking
young man,and showed considerable adroitness in his defence.

The telegraphic establishment at the port of Hull is now
in active operation.
BRITISH ASSOCIATION.—A meeting of the inhabitants
was held on Saturday last, at one o'clock, in the Town Hall,
when the report of the deputation sent to Birmingham, to
invite the British Association to hold its next meeting in
was given in, along with the acquiescence in
the
request
the part of the Association. Committees were
appointed, and other arrangements made, for the reception
of the numerous body of distinguished strangers expected
Glasgow, on
in Glasgow on I7th September next; and from the feeling
displayed by the meeting, we may assume that no exertions
will be spared by the local committee to make the Scientific
Meeting of 1840 worthy cf the second city in the empire.
The Lord Provost filled the chair, and the business was con-
ducted by Mr. Leadbetter, Mr. Liddell, Mr. Strange, Prin-
cipal Macfarlan, and Professor Nicholl.—Glasgow Mail.