The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1833-10-22 00:00:00

THE LI VERPOOL STANDARD.

LONDON POLICE REPORT.

LAMBETH-STREET. _
EXTRAOTIMUYANY CASE OF ARSON.— Friday Jine Walls,
a fine smart,looking girl of thirteen years of age, was placed
within the bar, before J. Hardwick anti Thomas Walker, Esqrs.,
on a charge of arson, in setting fire to the house of Mr. Stone,
au -extensive farmer, at Barkingside, Essex.
Mr. Stone stated that about a month since, the prisoner was
engaged by Mrs. Stone to mind the. children, being strongly
recommended by a friend as being the child of very respectable
parents, and who had lost her father but a short time before.
Her conduct up to Tuesday last was unexceptionable, but on
that day, at one o'clock, while he and his family were at dinner
in the parlour, she came to him and said that the house was on
fire. He instantly rushed into the yard, and saw a-quantity of
smoke issuing from the front attic window, and on proceeding
up stairs, he discovered a bed and bedding in the apartment in
flames, which had also by this time reached the door- and par-
tition, both of which were partially on fire. By prompt assist-
ance the fire was extinguished, not, however, before the bed,
bedding, and other articles of furniture in the room were totally,
destroyed. Mr. Stone, in conclusion, said that had the fire oc-
curred at any other time of day, when the servants and work-
men would.be ou different parts of the farm, his house and pro-
perty must have fallen a sacrifice to the flames ; but the men
haying come home to-dinner, and being in the house, they were
enabled to give immediate assistance.
- Samuel Prendergast, one of the officers of the establishment,
stated that in consequence of an application to him by Mr.
Stone, he, on the evening before, proceeded to his house, and
having no doubt, from what he had learned, that the prisoner
was the parson who had set the bed on fire, he put some ques-
tions to her, and she, - without threat, intimidation, or promise,
acknowledged the fact. He then took down her atement in
writing of the manner in which she had committed the fact,
and which she signed. The officer hero handed the statement
alluded to to the magistrates, anal produced some of the rem-
nants of the bedding.
Mr. Hardwick asked Mr. Stone if anything had occurred for
. some days previous to the fire, to excite the anger or feelings
of the prisoner?
Mr. Stone replied in the negative, and said that front her
general good conduct; and the attention to • his children, she
was treated more like one of the family than a servant.
The prisoner, who appears very intelligent for her age in
reply to the questions of Mr.-Hardwick, said that she had been
to schooL and could read 'and write, and knew it was a very
wicked thin to take up a candle and set the bed on fire. She
had not read anything about fires, but thought-she should like
to see a regular good fire. She had heard her cousins at Somers'-
town, where she resided before going, into the service of Mr.
Stone, talk about girls and boys setting their masters' houses-
on tire, and being hanged for it, but when she thought of set-
ting her master's house on fire, it was with no wish of getting
hanged,- but merely, as she staled before, to see a good large
fire. She was remanded until Tuesday net.

• - - OLD BAILEY SESSIONS.
- 'Ann Vickers, a young woman. or mild and delicate appear
ance, and who was stated to be married, was indicted for forging
a receipt fur •Sl5-1 13s ~ purporting to be written by Madame
Folet, the eminent dressmaker, with intent to defraud Eliza,
the wife of Colonel Hampton.
The:prisoner had been brought up from Dover in custody,
on a writ of habeas corpus.
The prosecutrix, Mrs. Eliza HamptOn (of fashionable man-
ners and address,) is the wife of Colonel Robert Hampton, of
the Indian army, and now on service in India, or on his return
home. The prisoner had lived with Mrs. H., who now resides
at 19, Prince's-street, Hanover-square. In February, and at
subsequent. times, she
,gave the prisoner £5O, and other sums,
to pay Madame Folet on account; and when, at length, she
Considered the whole sum paid, the receipt was demanded from
the prisoner, who was most confidentially employed. • A re=
ceipt was given, after some hesitation, which ultimately turned
out to be a forgery, Madame Folet declaring that it had never
emanated from her firm; The result was, the apprehension of
the prisoner. Mrs. Hampton swore she caused her box to be
a,,arehed by Mr. Turmoil, a friend of hers, in which certain pa-
pers were found establishing her guilt, and, in addition, it was
sworn by, Mrs. Hampton and Mr. Tuffnell, that the prisoner
confessed, in their presence only that the receipt was a forgery.
In a long and rigid cross-examination, the prosecutrix said she
was married to Colonel Hampton, in India, twenty years since.
Her husband had not been in England far thirty yenta. Her
income was MO a-year. She knew Mr. Tuffnell there. Mrs.
Hampton admitted going with that person to various watering-
places—to Margate, Boulogne, and elsewhere. Her daughter
was fifteen or sixteen years of age, and was imbecile. She had
empowered the prisoner to pawn plate and diamonds to a large
amount, and that fact was fully proved. The hand-writing of
the receipt. was proved to be a forgery, and that the money had
net been paid Madame-Folet. Mr. luffnell, stated to lie an
examiner of accounts, residing at No. 218, Regent-street, con-
firmed the.preceding witness, as to the main points necessary
to sustain the indictment, and admitted his frequent visits and
journeys With Mrs. Hanipton.
The prisoner, in defence, declared -that the prosecution was
a conspiracy to cause her banishment into exile, that she might
not appear against her prosecutors at a F.lture time.
Baron Vaughan summed up, remarking on the time that had
been wasted in cross-examination and inquiries into the charac-
ters of parties, when the fact to be determined was, whether the
prisoner had forged the receipt; and, again, whether she had
uttered it, knowing it to be forged ? That was all they had to
decide upon; for the mass of profligacy and immorality which
they had heard was not a subject ?or their consideration, ex-
cept as affecting the credibility of the witnesses. Indeed, a
stranger entering the court would have supposed he was in the
Ecclesiastical Court, in which the guilt or innocence of indivi-
duals for another offence—one agamstmorals, domestic peace,
and the happiness of the married state, was being inquired into.
Painful as.it was to have heard the circumstances arising out of
the lengthened cross-examinations, yet, as he before observed,
they did not interfere with the facts necessary to sustain the in-
dictment. The learned baron, after stating the law of the case,
(observing, the penalty of death had been abrogated,) left the
case in the hands of the jurors.
The Jury, after a short cousultation, pronounced a verdict of
not guilty.
Mr. Justice Park (there being other indictments against the
prisoner,) asked whether they were intended to be proceeded
with ?

The Solicitor for the prosecution answered in the'negative.
His lordship then inquired of the gaoler of Dover prison,
whether he had with his writ of hd6cas corpus one of retnittitur.
The gaoler produced a warrant, signed by the mayor cf
Dover and another magistrate.
It appeared there was no writ of remitiitur, and the prisoner
was consequently discharged.

COURT OF BANKRUPTCY.

COURT OP COMMISSIONERS, bASEIGIIALL-STREET,
FRIDAY, OCT. IS.

BANKRUPTCY OF RICHARD ARMISTEAD, . PROPRIETOR OF THE

LIVERPOOL •AIIIPkIITHEATRE.

This -bankruptcy has created considerable interest, as the
bankrupt is well known in the theatrical circles. He appeared
to-day un his last examination, and tendered to the Commis-
sioner and the assignees of his estate an account, which set
forth his debts at £16,000, and available assets at £29,000;
thus, he would have a surplus of £13,000, after paying 20s. in
the pound. He was therefore anxious that the proceedings
might be staved, as it was his intention to have the commission
superseded : not having committed an act of bankruptcy, and
being thus in a condition to meet all demands against him, it
would be cruel. and unnecessary to persevere in working the
commission further. The solicitor to the petitioning creditor
hoped this dream of Mr. Armistead's might be realized, but for
his part he thought the account delusive; in the mean time,
and until the assignees found out this statement to he correct,
he apprehended that the bankrupt was bound to conform to all
the rules his situation as a bankrupt required, which line of
conduct he had not thought proper hitherto to pursue: the as-
signees were in total ignorance of the state of his affairs, so re-
luctant was the bankrupt to render them any assistance; it was
,by mere stratagem that a few books and papers were recovered
by Mr. Fleet, a messenger of this court, who had been despatch-
ed to Liverpool, and succeeded, at twelve o'clock at night, on the
13th of September last, in gettinss possession of them in Silver-
street, Liverpool, whither they had been removed from the
-thantre by the bankrupt's daughter and sou-in-law. Since that
event a letter had been taken from his person .in the presence
of the.official assignee; it was from his daughter, and com-
menced, "My dear Papa.—l send you the papers, and direct
this letter, under cover, to so- and so (the phrase of the writer).
lest it should fall into the hands of the solicitor to the fiat:"
from this passage suspicion was naturally excited, and it has
been ascertaiued that the papers alluded to in the letter are of
, considerable importance, and now in the possession of an at-
torney, and consequently have never tea irthe hands of the
official assignee, in whose possession t ' properly should be :
altogether this was a case which called, r the strictest investi-
gation. f...
lhe Commissioner.—Mr. ArmistOl. have you in the usual
way prepared a list of your debtotsaand creditors ?
Mr. Armistead said that he could not do so until he went
.round to his creditors and debtors; being inexperienced in
such matters, he really was not aware he should have been
called upon for such a statement; he did not know what was
due to him, nor the amount of his debts; probably he 'night
that day six weeks be prepared with such a statement.
The solicitor to the petitioning creditor then asked " What,
then, becomes of the account you have just tendered ? It must,
by your own showing, be fictitious. All that we require is, that
'ifiu ease shall be gone through in the regular foriii.”..-They-
were very anxious to avoid unnecessary expense, which Could he
best managed by Mr. Armistead giving them all the facility in
his power, and he begged the learned commissioner would im-
press on, the mind of the bankrupt the necessity of his yielding
a willing acquiescence to the wishes of the assignees.
The official assignee here intimatedsthat by the conduct of the
bankrupt he was debarred from performing his duty to the cre-
ditors; instead of aiding and assisting,. the bankrupt had, by
suppressing facts and refusing-to give essential information
when called upon, thwarted by his endeavours:
The Commissioner said he would adjourn the bankrupt's ex-
amination sine die, as he had done nothing which the law required.
It was idle for a man of his education and situation in life to
plead ignorance or inexperience ; he should know very well
what his duty was in the circumstances in which he was then
placed. In any case, it were better for him to conform to the
law, as he must be well aware that from the uncertain state of
theatrical property, and the dubious character of old debts, the
assets he so confidently calculated on might never be realized by
one half, if so much. In the account there appeared to his
credit £2,000 a-year for rens of the theatre, and a considerable
sum placed down for rent of four shops situate under the theatre:-
the rent arising from the latter would probably in a great degree
depend on the success of the former. He would strongly advise
Mr. Armistead to proceed in the regular and honest course,
giving assistance to the assignees, which, en far from preventing
his superseding the commission, would accelerate that object,
if he was prepared to attain it.
The solicitor observed, that Mr. Armistead was not quite so
inexperienced as he pretended to be: this was not the first but
the second time he had been declared a bankrupt, so he knew
L very well what was necessary to be done.
The Commissioner said, that, as he remarked before, he would
' adjourn the present examination sine (lie, and give the bankrupt
his protection for a month, but the bankrupt would distinctly
understand that he must give up all-papers, books, and docu-
ments relative to his business to the assignees, and render them
every other assistance in his power; he would require an audit
,of the accounts on Wednesday; the Bth of January, at twelve
o'clock.
The solicitor then addressed Mr. Bousficld, the registrar, and
said there were matters of extreme delicacy on which he should
examine the bankrupt, but as it might be painful to the parties
to do so in public, Ae wished to he intarmed if it would answer
'the purpose as well to take his depositions out. of court and file
-them afterwards.
Mr. Bousfield.—Certainly not; von may proceed now, if you
like, or if you prefer it you may have a private meeting, when
the doors will be closed io all persons but yourselves.
The solicitor intimated that be would convene a private
meeting.
It was stated in court that the claims of several solicitors on
this estate' for law charges and costs are very considerable, owing
to the bankrupt's having been engaged lately in lawsuits with
Signor De Bevis cad other persons of theatrical notoriety.