The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1836-02-05 00:00:00

LIVERPOOL POLICE.

(Before THOMAS JAMES HALL, Esq., the Magistrate.)
AN ASPIRANT FOR THE GALLOWS.—James Gorman, a lad
only about ten years old, and who could scarcely see over the pri-
soners' dock, was brought up charged by a constable with having
had his hand in a gentleman's pocket, in a crowd in Manches-
ter-street the night before. Seeing the disturbance, the consta-
ble went there and seized the prisoner in the act. The consta-
bles had the greatest difficulty in securing the lad, the crowd
having attempted a rescue, in which the constables were very
roughly used. Batcheldor said the lad had been up only the
day before before the magistrate charged with felony, and was
discharged, no one appearing against him; he hatronly been
out of Kirkdale a month. He was sent back to Kirkdale for
three months.

COMMITTAL—EIIen Carney was charged by Maria Green,
who resides in Nile-street, with whom she had lived servant,
with having, on Wednesday last, during her absence, she hav-
ing been discharged from her service, entered her house and
stolen a gown, and various articles of wearing apparel. Mrs.
Baker, who keeps a spirit-vault in Dawson-street, deposed to
the prisoner bringing a bundle of clothes to her vault on the
night in question, and asking permission to leave it there, as
her mistress wanted to detain them. She looked at the clothes,
and told the prisoner she thought they were' too small for her,
and that they could not be her's, and refused to take them.
Mrs. Green afterwards called, and said she had lost the clothes,
and she then told her about the prisoner calling, and she was
i afterwards takenjute custody. The prisoner said that she
lodged with the prosecutor, who kept a disorderly house, and
she was to give her 10s. a week, and because she would notstay
any longer with her she had brought this charge against, her.
She was committed to take her trial.

EXTENSIVE FRAUD. —Cuthbert Simpson, a young man who
had been formerly in the employment of Mr. Dempsey, timber
merchant, was brought up charged with defrauding his employ-
ers to a considerable extent. Mr. Lloyd appeared on behalf of
the complainant. Mrs. Nixon, of Warwick-street, stated that
she had paid the prisoner £4 for Mr. Dempsey, as her quarter's
rent for the house she resides in, on the 6th of January last.
She was certain she had paid it to the. prisoner. He had called
twice about it; the first time she had told hiinkshe would rather
see Mr. Dempsey himself, He had, however, called again for
the money, and she had not seen Mr. Dempsey, and then paid
it to hint. She had paid the rent to the prisoner the quarter be-
fore. Mr. Dempsey said the prisoner had never accounted to
him for the £4, and he had never authorised him to receive that
money. The prisoner had absented himself on Monday week,
and he then first discovered that the money had been paid, au4
not accounted for. The prisoner had been in his service some
tune. lie employed him as a warehouseman and clerk, and to
give answers to persons calling The magistrate—You use the
term clerk, what was he to do. for you. Mr. Dempsey—The
clerk gave him his books to copy; he had not authority from
him (Mr. Dempsey) to receive money for him. Ile had re-
ceived money for him, though it was net a part of his duty. He
alwaysoave him a written authority to do so when he did. He
was not before aware that the money paid by Mrs.. Nixon for
the previous quarter had been received by the prisoner. He
supposed that Mr. Donnevan, his clerk, must have given
him orders to receive it. Alsop, the constable, said he took the pri-
soner into custody in. Denbigh, in, Wales. Mr. Dempsey went
with him. On apprehending the prisoner, Mr. Dempsey asked
him if he would withdraw for a few minutes from the room, and
leave him with the prisoner. He did so for a short time, and
Mr. Dempsey then asked him to step in. On entering, Mr.
Dempsey asked the prisoner what he had received, and the pri-
soner acknowledged to receiving several sums of money which
he had not accounted for; Mrs. Nixon's was amongst the rest.
He had received a very large stun of money, he said, from Mr.
Molliueux, of Wrexham, which he had lost. The magistrate
inquired of Mr. Dempsey what had passed betwixt himself and
the prisoner in the absence of the 'constable. Mr. Dempsey
said he had expressed his surprise in the first instance to the
prisoner at his conduct. He then said it would be much better
for him to lay himself on his mercy; that he had better disclose
what he had done. The prisoner had then burst into tears, and
said he had been a fool and a scoundrel, and that he was sorry
for what he had done. 'He then took his purse out of his poc-
ket, and said, " 'rake it, sir. These is all I have. Lam sorry
there is not more." , He then repeated to-him the various spins
-of which he had robbed him. The Magistrate: You distinctly
told hues it would better to throw himself on your mercy ?—Mr,
DemPsey : Yes; and if he would give up what he had, I would
try and not have him transported.—The Magistrate: The c.a.&
rests entirely now on his admission, and on that 1 cannot act,
after what you have stated of a promise held out to him.—Mr.
Lloyd said the whole of the other cases, amounting to seven
-or eight, rested in the same way on the admission of the prisoner.
The magistrate, addressing the prisoner, said he was discharged,
not from any merits of his own, but from the peculiar circum-
stances under which his confession had beets made. He had
acted in a very improper manner, and his character was such
now that nobody would in future employ bhp. It, was stated .
that the prisoner received a guinea a week. The money which he
had given up amounted to about £2l. The prisoner never once
looked up, and on being discharged looked the picture of
surprise.
PAWNBROKERS AND PLEDGES.—Christian Rowland appeared
to lay a complaint against Mrs. Lane, pawnbroker, for having
sold a silver spoon of hers before ie time allowed by law.
Mrs. Lane's shopman appeared on her behalf. Mrs. Rowland
stated that she had pledged a silver spoon at the defendant's on
the 12th of December, 18.31, and on the 12th of December,lB3s,
she went to redeeM it. She was told it was sold. She then
asked how that was, as it never had been forfeited. The shop-
man present answered her by asking if she knew what she
wanted? She said she had pledged a silver spoon for 25., which
she came to redeem. He said she was a fool of an old woman
to come there with such a tale. The spoon was sold, and there
was the door for her. She then went to a friend, and asked
him if he would go to demand the spoon. He did so on the
same day, and was treated with the same contempt. Her friend
tendered both the principle and the interest at the time, amount-
ing to 2s. 6d. It was on Saturday the 12th of Dec. that she had
called. The clerk (opening ont the act of parliament, and
spreading it before him like a barrister's brief) inquired, with an
air of authority:, if the complainant had not called on the gatnrday
night, and, seeing they were busy,had called againon the Monday.
Complainant replied she had not. John Brown deposed to being
applied to by complainant to go and demand the spoon for her,
and, having previously ascertained that the demand was right,
he went on Saturday, the 12th of December, and demanded it,
tendering the. principle and interest. The shopman, then-in
court, told him the spoon was sold. He asked how that could
be, for according to the date of the pawnticket it was not theirs
to sell. He demanded the spoon three several times, each time
tendering the principle and interest. The shopman then told
him to go about his business. He then requested him to state
when it was pledged, to which he replied by telling him "to find
it nut." He then said he should issue a summons against him.
He was then told, 'There is the door, walk out; I care neither
for vou nor the magistrate."—The shopman (thrusting both his
hands into his breeches pockets, and addressing the magistrate)
said, they had had a silver spoon to pledge, which was brought
downson the 12th of December, after the year had expired, and
broken,. and sent to the bullion office to be sold as old silver.
They sent it to be sold on the Monday. Very likely they might
show the applicant to the door; and as to his claiming the spoon
three times, it made no difference whether he claimed it three
times or three thousand. We have the law, (pulling his hand
out of his pocket and thumping his brief,) and we must abide by
the law. As for setting the magistrate at defiance, I said no such
thing. The case stood on a point of law. The act said that
pledged goods might be sold after one whole year, exclusive of
the selling day had expired; the spoon was pledged on the 12th
of December, 1834, and Saturday, the 12th of December, 1835,
et past twelve o'clock, was out of the year, for there could not
be two I2ths of Decembers in one year.—The magistrate said he
was getting on rather too fast; the act said, exclusive of the
day of Oedging, and Saturday, the 12th, would be in ample
time.—The shopman: the year had then expired.—The ma-
gistrate : no, certainly not, in the terms of the. act.—The shop-
man : one o'clock on the Saturday, on. the same day a year after
the goods were pledged, must be another year. It is so; and it
must be so.—The magistrate : certainly not.—The shopman :
well then, if necessary, I will bring evidence to swear treat the
spoon was not called for till Monday, the 14th of December.—
The magistrate: it is very lamentable to see the frauds which
are practised by pawnbrokers on these poor people.—The shop,
man :it is not a fraud—it was two days beyond, the time.—The
magistrate : hear me, sir. This woman swears, and she is sup-
ported by a witness whom I cats believe, that the spoon was
applied for to be redeemed on Saturday, the 12th of December,
in ample time, and there is no evidence to disprove that. They
both swear that they came within the period of time directed by
the act of parliament, and unquestionably it was your duty to
have given up the property. The sum tendered yon was suf-
ficient, under the act of parliament, and therefore there was no
ground whatever for refusing to do so.—A woman here stepped
forward, and said she had bought the spoon of the pawnbroker
on the Monday for 12s. 6d.—The magistrate: it was the practice
of,pawnbrokers to retain goods by any quibble beyond the year,
and then sell them, which- was nothing more nor less than a
fraud. In the present case, under the protection of an act of
parliament, a poor person had pledged property which it ap-
peared was worth 12s. 6d., and ha+, got only 2s. on it—(shop.
man : yes)--they had broken up the spoon and sold it—(shop-
man yes)—and there could be no question but it was within
the time expressed in the act of parliament.—Shopman : it
was not.—The magistrate : they swear it.—The shopman :
and I can swear to the contrary.—The magistrate : you
haye not done so.—The Shopntau: Oh, I have witnesses at
hand, whom I can send for if necessary.—The Magistrate: It
is a very discreditable transaction ; you might as well have
robbed the woman of the amount ; far she has placed tliis pro-
perty within the sanction of the law in your possession, and you
have sold it.—The Shopman : I must go by the law.—The Ma-
gistrate: I am to decide the law, not you. You are under a
mistake entirely ; it was within the timea—The Shopman :
Well, then on another point it was forfeited, she pledged the
spoon in a name that was not her own.—The Magistrate: That
does not matter at all; it has nothing whatever to do with the
case:—The Shopman : Well, then I can send for witnesses who
will swear that it was not applied for till the Monday, till three
daysafter the time.—The Magistrate: They are not here, and
it is very disgraceful conduct. There are, however, some cir-
cumstances in the case which place it without nay jurisdiction,
but which I shall not state, because I do not wish it to be known
where that informality rests, seeing as I do, pawnbrokers so
anxious to catch hold of every little circumstance for retaining
property, that they may not take advantage of it. 1 have con-
sidered this case, and ain of opinion. (addressing complainant)
on looking over the 14th section of the act on which they have
acted, that, under the circumstances, it is not in my power to in
terfere. I have not the least doubt but that your statement is
true, but I have no power under this particular section to order
the restoration of the property. It i§ not every case of this sort
where I have power ; the law will not give me 'a diScretionary
power. 'lt is as disgraceful a transaction at ever came before
me. The parties then left the court.
CatiTton To Comet AND CAB DRIVERS.—A gentleman ap-
peared tot?Qoit
ay an information against the conduct of the driver
of Mr.
Brook field's coach. The former stated that he had seen
the defendant on his box flogging his horses into a gallon, and
urging thataceiin th he wooasl.the street at a most furious speed. Per-
i.;
at:iriiitoxicated, and apprehensive of mischief,.
he pursued hi
.tietudeavotired to stop the horses, that he
might iemonstrate
to him, and lashed }Ulm h."'n* Thedefendant refused to listen
with his whip. He (the driver) went to
the house of a person
for him; but that gentlema,m'lver, who, it appeared, had sent
that the defendant was in-
toxicated, refused to proceaws7e,i.ng
ant was put inside the coach" Ultimately, the defend-
ahima:another person throve him
home. Tile defendant acknowlean
4eoa that he was intoxicated,
but denied having struck the
Jeartienant;he hoped the
magistrate would look over the
quence of the occurrence, been disraissedefraolnhhe. had, in cense-
Pined 20s. and costs. employment.

dreadful
DREADFUL EXPLOSION AT HETTON COLLIERY.
OXI,IOSiOn occurred-on Thursday. afternoon, at theV
near Hetton, about eight. miles from this place. Sixteen men
and boys have fallen victims, and five others have been brol,-;ent
to bank .dreadfully_ scorched, with scarcely any probabilityl'hor
their surviving. Upwards of 100 persons were employed in
pit at the time it occurred, but owing to the accident being con-
fined to one of the workings, the number of the victims was less
than might have been. expected., It impossible to give an
adncinate description, of the consternation that spread like light-
ning through the dwellioga.of. the neighbouring. population on
',string the melancholy tidings.—Sunderland