The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1840-03-10 00:00:00

ALLEGED ROBBERY BY A PUBLICAN.

Hugh Edwards, a publican in Flint-street, was charged
with having stolen a purse, containing 51 sovereigns from the
person of John Shannon, under the following circumstances.
John Shannon said he was a lumper, and lived on Green-
field-terrace, in Flint-street. The prisoner kept, a public-
house in Flint-street, called the Greenfield Coffee House,
and witness rented his house from him. Shortly after twelve
o'clock on Friday night last, witness was going home, when
he noticed a light in Edward's house. He knocked at the
door, and the prisoner opened it. He sat down in a room
near the bar, and called for twopennyworth of whisky. Two
girls from the street entered the house immediately after
him, and after they had had something out of the bar, the
prisoner put them out and fastened the door. Witness,
when he entered the house, had in his possession the small
bag now produced, containing fifty-one sovereigns, having
received £67 in the course of his business the day before.
The bag with the sovereigns was in a pocket inside his waist-
coat, and he took it out in order to pay for the whisky, but
put it into the pocket again. He fell asleep, and was awoke
by the prisoner shaking him, about one o'clock in the morn-
ing. He felt for his money, but found it was gone. No one
but himself and the prisoner was in the place. Witness said to
him, " you have taken my money," but the prisoner denied
the charge. In a short time afterwards witness went home,
and informed his family that he had been robbed. About
ten o'clock the following morning he went to the prisoner's
house, and saw the same two girls there as he had seen the
night before ; and being vexed at having lost his money, he
knocked one of them down. They, he understood, had gone
there of their own accord, in order to clear their characters
from the suspicion of having committed the robbery. The
prisoner at that moment came out of the bar, and stooping
down, showed witness his purse, saying, "Is this your
purse ?" Witness replied, "It is, but it is not so heavy."
The witness Griffith was present, and witness counted twelve
sovereigns from the purse into his hand, Witness charged
the prisoner with having stolen the remaining £39, and the
officers being sent for he was given into custody. Witness had
had some liquor when he went into the prisoners house on
Friday night, but knew very well what he was doing. He
was quite sure lie had the purse after the girls had been
turned out.

Elizabeth Shannon, sister-in-law to the last witness, said,
she, went with him to the prisoner's house on Saturday
morning about ten o'clock, and saw the woman knocked
down. Witness saw the prisoner go back into the bar, and
come out again with his hands in his pockets ; she was close
to him, and saw him take his hand from his pocket and drop
the prosecutor's bag upon the floor. The prisoner picked it
up again and said, " What 's this, John ?" Shannon re-
plied, " It 's my purse ;" and having examined it, he de-
clared there was not the weight. Witness saw the money
counted, and there were only twelve sovereigns. The police
were then sent for. When the prisoner dropped the purse,
he was not near the woman who was knocked down, and
witness was quite certain that he dropped it himself.
John Griffith, a labourer residing at 51, Flint-street, gave
similar evidence, adding, that he received the twelve sove-
reigns as they were counted from the puree.
John Currie, policeman 352, stated that he was on duty in
the neighbourhood on Saturday morning, and that, on charg-
ing the prisoner with the robbery, he denied it, and said the
purse had dropped from the woman when Shannon struck
her. The house was afterwards searched, when twelve sove-
reigns were found in gold, and £3 in silver.
This was all the evidence. When called upon for his de-
fence, the prisoner replied, " All I did was to take up the
purse, and give it to him."

Mr. Rus-hton told him he must be committed to take his
trial at the next sessions.

Mr. Davenport, on- the part of the prisoner, applied for
him to be liberated on bail, urging that he was a respectable
man, and that if he were incarcerated his business would be
ruined.

Mr. Rushton said he did not think it tvas a case in which
he could accept bail; but he would reconsider it, and Mr.
Davenport might renew his application to-morrow (this day).
The prisoner was then removed.
STEALING FROM A TILL.

James Grier, a lad of fourteen or fifteen, employed as an
errand boy by Mr. William Tinker Tidd, grocer and provi-
sion-dealer, Park-lane, was placed at the bar, on a charge of
having robbed his master's till.
Mrs. Tidd stated, that about a quarter to two o'clock on
Saturday afternoon she went into the shop, and looked into
the till, and observed a quantity of silver in it. In half an
hour afterwards, or rather more. she looked again, and miss-
ed some money, but to what amount she could not tell. The
prisoner, just before, had been washing the counter, and she
noticed wet ringer marks in the till. She itfirnediately sent
the prisoner into the yard, and in toe meantime informed
Mr. Tidd. She then went into the
y yard, and said to the pri-
saner. " What have your with the money which you
have taken out of the till? He answered, " I have taken
none ; but a
i moment afterwards he gave her a sixpence, say-
ing, " That s all I have." An officer was then sent for. It was
no part of the prisoner's duty to attend to customers, and he
had no business whatever to meddle with the till.
Mr. Tidd said he saw the police-officer search the pri-
soner. In different pockets were found one sovereign, 13
half-crowns, 33 shillings, 3 sixpences, 5 pennies, and one
halfpenny. One of the shillings was a very peculiar one,
and witness received it just before; it had been taken from
the till near the place where the butter was weighed. The
prisoner had been in his service since June last, and had 8s
a week wages, which were always paid to his mother.
William Lancaster, police-officer No. 168. said he was
called in, and that on searching the prisoner he found the
money upon him described by the last witness.
The prisoner made no defence, and he was committed to
the sessions.

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DISTRESSING SUICIDE.—On Wednesday se'nnight, a most
distressing occurrence took place at Horn, near Ross. Mrs.
Smith, wife of Mr. Smith, farmer in the above place, after
putting the children to bed at eight o'clock, returned down
stairs with her bonnet and shawl on, and went into the per-
lour, the door of which she locked ; she then opened the
window, got out, proceeded down to the river, placed her
shawl and bonnet on the bank, threw herself into the Wye,
and was drowned. The body was shortly afterwards picked
iv, her dress having been caught by the sprays of the bushes.
Upon Mr. Smith's return home, he inquired after his wife,
and was informed she was in the parlour, uncial
but the door
locked and the window open, suspicion flashed across his
mind, and he immediately ran down to the river, where he
found his wife a lifeless corpse. The deceased has left three
small children, and was very near her confinement.--Bath
Chronicle.