The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1841-01-08 00:00:00

WEDNESDAY

Pichard Johnson, 3-17a.FZITlicaU, of Garden-lane, was
charged with having feloniously in his possession two £lO.
Bank of England notes, he knowing the same to have been
stolen.

Mr, Henderson was counsel for the prosecution, and Mr.
Murphy for the prisoner. The indictment arose out of a
case of robbery that occurred some time back. A clerk of
the name of Richard Knott Carter, was on the 15th Sept.
1839, robbed of a quantity of bank notes, by a woman named
Ann Fagan, with whom he was in company at a public-house.
She was apprehended, charged with the robbery, and on her
trial pleaded guilty, and was transported. Soon afterwards,

in consequence of information given to the police, the prisoner
Johnson was applied to by the police, and asked if he knew
Ann Fagan, otherwise Ann Twist, it being intimated to him
that she had committed a robbery of bank notes, and that as it
was ascertained that she had shortly afterwards been at his
house, suspicion rested upon him that he was in possession of
two of them. lie denied having ever having known such a
woman as Ann 'agan •, admitting that two women had been
at his house on the 16th September, 1839, but that they merely
came as casual customers, and were served and went away.
The police-officers then gave him a description of the notes,
with their respective numbers, and asked him whether he had
such notes or not. He replied, " I have no such notes ; I
know of no such notes." The police then gave information
to Mr. Jones, the brewer with whom the prisoner dealt with
for ale, and also to Mr. Mulleneux; his spirit merchant, of the
robbery, and requested them to mark any notes which the
prisoner might hand to them in payment in such a manner
that they could identify them if called 'on to give their evidence.
Early in, October last the prisoner went to the brewery of
Mr. Jones, and, in payment of his account, tendered a £lO
note. The young man who'received it wrote the prisoner's
name at the back, submitted it to Johnson, and remarked,
"We shall know this again." He (the prisoner) replied,
Oh yes) we shall know it." Some time after this he ten-
dered another £lO note at Mr. Mulleneux's, which was also
marked in a similar manner'. The police being informed,
he was taken into custody.

On the trial, Mr. Carter proved the robbery and the
numbers of the notes. The police-officers proved the inter-
view with the prisoner. Mr. Jones's book-keeper, and Mr.
Mulleneux, jun., deposed to receiving the respective notes,
and marking them in the presence of the prisoner.
Mr. Murphy, for the prisoner, dwelt upon the inconsis-
tency of his conduct. if he were aware that he had a guilty
possession of the notes, in offering them to the very parties
who of all others were the mostlikely to be applied to and
placed on the look-out. It was not sufficient to show that
the prisoner had possession of the notes to authorise the
jury to find him guilty. It must be clearly proved that he
had them knowing then:lito have been feloniously stolen. It

was shown, by the evidence for the prosecution, ''''' the
prisoner had had possession of the notes. This he (Mr.
Murphy) was not instructed to deny. The only question
was how he became possessed of them. He (the learned
counsel) was in a position to shew by evidence, that shortly
before the time he had offered the notes, the prisoner had
changed two £lO notes fora person named Chambers, who
had since absconded. If he proved this to the satisfaction of
the jury, he thought they would not consider the evidence
adduced sufficient to warrant a verdict against the prisoner.
A witness was called, who deposed to being at the prison-
er's house about the time alluded' to, and seeing a travelling
Scotchman, whom be had frequently seen there.. Chambers
asked Johnson if he would change him a £lO note, and the
prisoner replied that he could. The note was handed to
him, and he left the room to go for the change. The pri-
soner shortly afterwards returned and counted to Chanibers
nine sovereigns and some silver.
Another witness stated that he was at Johnson's on a sub-
sequent day, and asked him, in witness's presence, if he
would change him a note. He saw the note, but was not
sufficiently near to see distinctly its number or its value.
He would, however, swear that Johnson gave him more than
eight sovereigns in change;

Several witnesses were then called to speak to the charac-
ter of the prisoner.
Mr. Henderson for the prosecution replied to the defence.
The RECORDER having summed up the evidence, the jury
in a few minutes returneda verdict of guilty.
The prisoner prayed the court to be heard a few words
before sentence was passed. He had, he said, two sisters,
and a grandfather, 87 years of age, solely dependent upon
him for support. Parties, too, bad taken possession of his
house and squandered his property. He had already been in
gaol for a length of time, and had lost the use of his right
side, so that he was not capable of hard labour.
The RatcoRDER I—You have been carrying on an abomi-
nable traffic with those wretched women of the town "for a
great length of time, by givingthem only-a few shillings for
any bank notes they offered, you.* What has aggravated your
offence is that your defence has been fouuded in perjury.

ras firmly believe as that I sit here that you have got up
your defence by perjury—infamous, naked perjury. The
sentence of the court is that you be transported beyond the
seas for the term of ten years.

le woman