The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1840-10-30 00:00:00

LIVERPOOL QUARTER SESSIONS.-TUESDAY.

COUNTERFEIT IRISH COIN.
James Howard, 27, was charged with having unlawfully
had in his possession, 460 pieces of false and counterfeit coin,
resembling, or apparently intended to resemble, or pass for,
the Queen's current copper coin, called pennies ; and 270
pieces of false and counterfeit coin, resembling, or apparently
intended to resemble, and pass for, the Queen's current cop-
per coin, called halfpennies, well knowing the same to be false
and counterfeit, and with the intent to utter and put off the
same.
Mr. Lawrence and Mr. Henderson conducted the prose-
cution and Mr. Venables the defence.
It appeared, that on the 2d September ult., police-officer
395 saw the prisoner leaving one of the City of Dublin COM-
pany's steam-packets. He was then attended by a young man
who carried his box. Observing that the box appeared un-
usually heavy, he accosted the prisoner, and asked him if it
belonged to him. He replied in the affirmative. The officer
asked him what it contained. He said it contained his
clothes. As the box was small, and, as before observed, ex-
ceedingly heavy, the officer was somewhat suspicions, and re-
quested to see the inside of it. The prisoner immediately
took out the key and opened the box, when there appeared
some clothes and a few pence in good copper. The sagacious
officer, however, seeing that the few clothes exposed to view
did not account for the weight of the box, gauged it with his
stick, and found that the outside was some inches deeper than
the inside. He then requested the prisoner to accompany
him to the police-office. Arrived there, he asked the prisoner
if he had anything in his box besides clothes ? He said, no-
thing but about eighteen pence in copper. The officer, con-
vinced that this could not be the fact, turned out the clothes.
The inside then appeared fair and smooth, papered through-
out. On tearing away the paper, a board was discovered,
which formed a false bottom. This was removed, when there
appeared a number of paper parcels, which, on examination,
were found to contain base copper, made up in sums of 5s and
lOs each. The quantity would have amounted to about £4
or £5, supposing it to have been good.
Mr. Powell, the inspector of coins for the mint, stated that
the pennies in question were base. They were made of pot
metal. The difference in sale and value together between
these and good pennies was about lid in every pound of
avoirdupois. It was stated that the gain in the transaction
would have been 19s lid; and as the prisoner was presumed
to be frequently passing between this country and Ireland, his
profit on this sort of exchange might be very considerable.
The defence set up was, that the prisoner was a baker of
buns, and had sold his commodities at Donnybrook fair,
where he took the copper, and had merely packed it in this
false bottom for safety. A boy from Dublin was called, who
stated that he had advised the prisoner to put a false bottom
in the box. Witnesses were called, who gave the prisoner a
good character.
The RECORDER passed sentence of two months' imprison-
ment.

WEDNESDAY.
ALLEGED EMBEZZLEMENT.
James Latham was put to the bar, charged with having
feloniously embezzled and secreted the several sums of
£49 55., £6B, and £lB 45., which he had received and taken
into his possession, for and on account of Messrs. Henry
Lovett and Richard Taylor, his masters.
Mr. Lovett having deposed to the fact of the embezzle-
ment, he was submitted to a severe cross-examination by
Mr. Murphy, as to whether he had not negotiated with the
prisoner, that if the latter gave security for the money the
prosecution would be dropped. He admitted, at first, that
something of the kind had been in contemplation between
them for three weeks, and that in letters which passed be-
tween himself and his partner, Mr. Taylor, lie stated the
prisoner had offered terms, but that he had not decided whe-
ther they should or should not be accepted. He ultimately
admitted, that if he could have got security for the money,
no prosecution would have taken place.
Mr. MURPHY here applied to the court to quash the pro-
secution under the circumstances admitted.

The RECORDER was of opinion that it ought to be quashed.
Mr. VENABLES, with warmth, contended that the trial
could proceed.
Mr. MURPHY said that it was only trifling with the time
of the court to contend for anything of the kind.
Mr. VENABLES replied that he was not in the habit of
trifling with the time of the court, but especially in such a
case as the present it was the furthest from his intention.
The jury then returned a verdict of Not Guilty. •
PRESENTMENT AND DISCHARGE OF THE GRAND JURY.

The following presentment of the grand jury was here read
by the clerk of the emu t :
" The district surveyor having brought before the notice of
the grand jury the dangerous state of certain premises situ-
ated at the corner of Cases-street, in Ranelagh-street, inha-
bited or tenanted by Peter Woodworth, John Rowman Jones,
and E. and A. Lewis, also, premises 73, Paradise-street, in
the occupancy of George Kenrick ; and the grand jury, hay.
ing deputed two of their number to inspect the buildings and
report, and having had before them the district surveyor and
the town surveyor, do, on such inquiry, consider the pre-
mises in an unsafe condition.

"The grand jury feel it their duty to express the satisfac-
tion they have received from the clear manner with which
the police have on every occasion delivered their testimony,
and the evidence of activity they have exhibited in detecting
crime ; and, in conclusion, the jury wish to impress on the
attention of the proper authorities the necessity of amending
the condition of many of the public streets and highways, as
well as following up, by all legal means, the abatement cf
public nuisances."
The Learned RECORDER then said that the grand jury had
performed their duty with great vigilance ; that the public
were greatly indebted to them for their attention ; and that
he felt happy in being then able to discharge them.
The grand jury hereupon bowed and retired.