The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1842-04-08 00:00:00

THE ABDUCTION CASE.

APPREHENSIOA

4NO THER PRISONBR

On Tuesday Samuel Martin Copeland, the individual who
has figured in the above case as Mr. Martin, was placed be-
fore Mr. Rushton, at the Police-court, charged with having
conspired to defraud Miss. Crellin of a sum of money, having.
first proposed marriage to her, he being at the time a married
man, and then, on a difference respecting the terms of the
marriage settlement, having threatened, unless she complied
with his demands, to take legal proceedings against her for a
breach of promise of marriage. Copeland is an extremely
pale, wasted, and consumptive-looking person with a hag-
gard and disorderly appearance, giving him, in connexion
with the ashy hue of his features, a disagreable, if not forbid-
ding expression. Mr. Davenport appeared in his defence.
Mr. Rushton having read over the evidence of Miss Crellin,

so far as it related to the prisoner,
Miss Crellin stated, in answer to a question from Mr. Da-
venport, that the person at the bar was the Mr. Martin who
had received from her £250, and whose signature was attached
to the documents in possession of the court. She could not
tell exactly how long she had known him. She had left
Liverpool for the Isle of Man on the Bth of September last,
and it was about a month previous to that time that he had
first called upon her. He came to her house with MissShoane
in consequence of a notice in the window that the house was
to let. He afterwards came to see her, and continued his
calls until she went to the Isle of M. He did not come
.

every day : perhaps twice a week. •She received him as a
visiter. Sometimes he_came alone, and sometimes with a

Captain Tomkinson. She was in the habit of receiving his
visits about a month before she left Seymour-street. When
she went to the Isle of Man he accompanied her on board
the packet. He came across afterwards to see her. He bad
made proposals of marriage to her before she went. She did
not give him any answer, but he still came to see her. She
left the Isle of Man on the 10th of November. On her re-
turn to Liverpool he came to see her with a Mr. Bulkeley,
and pressed her much to be married. She saw him every
day. He called upon her at her lodgings in Norton-street.
She might have been lodging there a few days before he paid
her a visit. She could not tell exactly how long it was be-
fore she consented to his proposals. It might be a few
weeks. She did not hear he was a married man till after she
had accepted him. She was told by a Mr. Duval whom she
had met at Mr. Crellin's, in Finch-street.
By the court.—That was after she had paid him the money.
By Mr. Davenport.—Mr. Duval was the first who told her
be was married. She afterwards heard it from Dr. Dryden
and others. She had never known him under another name.

It might be about a fortnight after she had been at Mr.
Thompson's office that she made the discovery. Her object
in going to Mr. Thompson's office was to get her property
settled on herself. She went only once to Mr. Thompson's

in company with the prisoner. He wished half the property
only to be settled on her; to which she would not consent,
and they left. There was no deed prepared. She could not
.

tell at what date this took place. She had been staying a
few days at Mrs. Clayton's, and left that day. From Mrs.
Clayton's she went to Mrs. Jones's. She remained there a
few days. Her next lodging was with Mrs. Chamley. She
remained there less than a fortnight. From Mrs. Chamley's
she was decoyed away by Mr. Jones, with a view to meet-
ing Martin. She recollected having resided a short time in
Lodge-lane. She went there to see Martin respecting the

money.
By the court.—That was before she went to Mrs. Chain-
ley's, between that time and the time she left Mrs. Jones.
She was living in Lodge-lane more than a week. It was at
Mr. Bulkeley's, where Martin resided, who took her thither.
She went there to see Martin respecting the money. She
was outside, and the lady, Mrs. Withicomb, wished her to
come in and take tea. She inquired for Mr. Martin. They
took tea together. She had no conversation with Martin
about the money that night. Of course they thought at
that time of being married. She did not pay for her lodg-
ings. She only stayed on a visit. It was Mrs. Jones who
had told her that Martin intended to refund part of the mo-
ney., The time passed pleasantly enough at Lodge-lane.
Martin never behaved ungenteel to her. She did not come
there to say anything against him. The subject of the mo-
ney was mentioned once or twice, but to no one but Martin
himself. He went with her to a friend's house, and left her at
the door. She was to go back and dine with him that day :
but a few minutes after she was in the house Mr. Duval
came and told her he was a married man. While in Lodge-
lane she had merely asked him once or twice if he would
return a little of the money, and he said he would.
By the court.—The negotiation for the marriage had been
renewed, and they thought of it till Duval called to tell her
Martin was married. Nothing was said about it in Lodge-
lane.
By Mr. Davenport.—She had said nothing of the kind to
any of the Bulkeleys, though she slept with Mrs. Withicomb,
the daughter, and saw all the family daily. She did not
recollect the elder Bulkeley ever telling her that Martin did
not wish to cultivate her acquaintance : very far from it.
What she heard from Duval prevented her dining with Mar-
tin, and she had never seen him since.
Mr. Rushton remarked, that the cross-examination had
been addressed entirely to what took place after the offence
had been committed.
,Mr. Davenport said, at any rate it did not appear that there
had been any fraud.
Mr. John Nixon Gaskell Thompson examined by the
Court. —ls an attorney, at No. 6, Newington. Had known
Miss Crellin since 1824 or 1825. Was first concerned for her
professionally about twelve months ago, but had not acted for
her some time past. He remembered her calling at his
office : it was after she came from the Isle of Man. She was
alone when she called, but said she had been keeping com-
pany with a gentleman for some time, and had brought him
with her to give instructions respecting a marriage settlement.
She had left him at the foot of the stairs. He asked his
name, and she said it was Martin. She said, " Nowstick up
for me, and I will go and bring him." She gave him no other
directions at that time. He had had previous communica-
tions with her, when she had told him she wished her pro-
perty settled upon herself. She did not say so with reference
to that gentleman. She then brought up Martin and a per-
son she called Mrs. Jones. The prisoner was the person
she introduced as Mr. Martin. She repeated that he had
been paying his addresses to her for some time past, and that
they were coming to give instructions as to the marriage set-
tlement, as she wished all the property settled on herself.
Martin observed that it was very strange, considering they
had been acquainted nearly twelve months, that she bad never
mentioned that till that morning ; and he thought if he set-
tled one half of her fortune upon her it would be very fair.
Miss Crellin answered, no; she would have it all, or she
would never marry him or any other man. Martin, he be-
lieved, then proposed to leave it to him to say what was right
and usual under such circumstances. He replied that Miss
Crellin had a perfect right to exercise her own judgment, and
settle it as she thought fit ; he should advise her to have it so
settled. He expressed a wish to speak to witness privately,
and was taken into the clerk's office, and spoke to him in the
presence of the two clerks. He inquired what witness thought
Miss Crellin was worth : he understood about £50,000.
Witness told him, according to the best of his judgment,
from £5OOO to £lO,OOO : certainly less than £15,000. Mar-
tin said it wns not worth his while being troubled about it,
and immediately returned to the other office. The conversa-
tion was then resumed. Martin refused to settle more than
one half. Miss Crellin then said, " Come along, Mrs. Jones,
let us go to the other place." And they all three left toge-
ther. He had never seen Miss Crellin since.
By Mr. Davenport.—He had never seen Martin before in
his life.
Mr. Rushton then read Dr. Dryden's evidence. After
which the prisoner was remanded until Friday, then to be
brought up with the rest.
Inspector Campbell, in answer to a question from the
Court, said, he had arrested the prisoner at No. 90, Vine-
street. Mr. Rushton warmly commended him for his vigi-
lance, and requested Mr. Dowling to recommend him to the
Watch Committee for more substantial reward.

SOUTH LANCASHIRE ASSIZES

CROWN COURT.—TrrEsDAY
Baron Parke took his seat at nine o'clock.

SENTENCE ON HOWARTH

Edmund Howarth, who pleaded guilty, on Wednesday
last, of forgery, was placed at the bar. He was sentenced to
ten years' transportation. He fell insensible into the arms
of the turnkeys on hearing his sentence.
BURGLARY, &C.-SHOOTING WITH ATTEMPT TO

MURDER, &C.
Edmund Hardman, aged 29, was charged with having, at
Lower Stack, in Spotlaud, feloniously and burglariously
broken and entered the dwelling-house of James and John

Rothwell, and stolen therefrom two silver wr.tches, one
comb, and seven shillings ; and with having feloniously fired
a pistol at the said James Rothwell, with intent to murder

Dr. Brown and Mr. Brandt prosecuted.
Dr. BROWN laid the case very lucidly before the jury,
stating in the outset the law of the case. The offence was
one of those the punishment of which had been mitigated,

the crime being still capital.
James Rothwell sworn. I live with my brother, John
Rothwell, at Lower Stack, in the parish of Rochdale. We
are farmers, and joint occupiers of the house and farm. No
other person lives in the house. We are both bachelors.
There is no house occupied near. On Monday night, the
20th December, we went to bed about ten o'clock. We slept
on the ground floor. The doors and windows were fastened.
They are lead windows, and do not open. In the course of
the night I was alarmed by the dog ; it was about two
o'clock. At a window I saw a man stepping back off a bench
outside the window. I saw the man plainly, and two others
standing a little back. I had a pitchfork in my hand, and I
made a push at the man with it. I kept the fork at the cor-
ner of the fire-place for protection. I heard a pistol fired,
and I felt the contents touch me. (Witness here placed his
hand on his right breast where he said the contents touched
him.) I felt it smart. More shots were fired immediately.
There were four or five shots, I believe : they were as quick
as could be one after another. After they had stopped a bit
before the window they went round to the back of the house.
I heard the window there broken, and then they come back
again to the front. I saw three of them there. They broke
another window, and then I heard them try to break open the
door. Previously to this they had fired two more shots through
the window. They did not force the door open. When I found
they could not succeed in breaking the door, I asked them
what they wanted. There is a porch to the house, and this
was the outer door. They replied, "We want your money,
and your money will have or else your life." More than one
spoke. I said we had no money or nothing of any conse-
quence. They said they knew better, we had plenty of
money. I said we had not ; we had only a few shillings ; I
could not tell now much : they should have it if they would
spare our lives. .One of them said, " Put it out of the win-
dow." I asked my brother to bring it. My brother brought
either 6s. 6d. or 7s. 6d. in silver, and I gave it to one of
the men, not the one who fired. There were three together.
One of them asked where the half-sovereign was. It was the
man to whom I gave the silver. I said we had neither a
half-sovereign nor a sovereign in the housa. One of them
said, " Let's be off.;' Him that shot at me said. "No ;
there's money ; I know there's money, and I'll go in." I
said, there's none but what I have given you, but a few pen-
nyworths of copper, and you may have that . He said, " No;
I'll come in." I said, " I'll open you the door, and unlock
everything in the house, and you shall look for yourself."
He said, " I'll come in here," and he climbed through the
window and demanded a light. A light was given to him by
my brother. He had pistols, I thought, then in his hands.
I had then an opportunity of noticing him. I had never
seen him before, but I can tell now who he was. It was the
prisoner. I have no doubt of it. He was the man who shot
at me. He ordered me and my brother up stairs. There is
a door at the bottom of the stairs. The prisoner shut it.
After we were up stairs we heard a noise of furniture and
pots breaking. The noise continued nearly twenty minutes.
I could not tell by the noise whether there were more than
one man. The prisoner at length came up stairs. He had a
pistol and a light. He came in front of me, and presented
his pistol near to my belly. He said we bad money, and had
been hiding it; and " if you don't find it," said he, " I'll
blow into you." My brother was close to me. I was par-
tially dressed. He unbuttoned my coat, and felt outside my
poekets. He next went to a chest and opened it, and took
clothes out and shook them, and threw them 'on the floor.
He looked round the room. He went to some sacks of pro-
vender, and put his hands in. He then went down stairs.
He held the light in his hand all the time he was in the room.
I saw him well, and am sure he is the man. He went and
remained down stairs about ten minutes. We heard a din,
and at the end of the ten minutes he opened the stairs door,
and said, " you may come down now, we're going." We
went down in a few minutes. The men were gone, and the
house door was open. The house had been ransacked. The
desk was open, the drawers out, and,everything strewed about
the floor. We missed two watches, one of mine, and one of
my' brother's, which had been in the desk drawer. I had
seen the watches the Sunday but one before. We missed a
comb out of the drawer of a salt-box, and a few pence in
copper. I cannot say when we had seen the comb, for •Ye
were not in the habit of combing our hair more than about
once a week. (Laughter.) We had had the comb three or
four years. I found tbree bullets in the house ; two were
flattened. There was a red spot on my side.
Sylvester }'arrady, a police-officer, produced the shirt
which the last witness wore. There was a hole like a bullet
hole in the shirt at the side indicated by the witness.
The brother of James Rothwell then corroborated his evi-
dence; and a constable produced two watches, pawned at
Bolton, and identified as those in the prisoner's possession
when he offered them for sale to a beerhouse-keeper in Bol-
ton. When he was taken he had two pistols in his possession,
a small comb, and a box of gunpowder. The balls found in
the house of the prosecutor fitted these pistols.
The prisoner was found guilty, but his lordship deferrei
he sentence.

THE ST. HELEN'S MURDER.
Robert Woods, 21, Isaac Jacques, 25, and Thomas Moly-
neux, 28, were indicted for the wilful murder of Henry Gray-
son, at Windle, near St. Helen's. They pleaded not guilty.
We gave the facts of this extraordinary case so fully at the
time, that it is unnecessary now again to detail them. We
will merely give in brief what took place before the court.
Dr. Brown and Mr. Brandt appeared for the prosecution,
and Mr. Wilkins for the defence. Dr. Brown, in the course
of his opening, stated, that without the evidence of a man,
who was his principal witness, he had no case. This man
had not presented himself to give evidence till fourteen days
after the parties now on trial were in custody, and not until a
reward of £250 had been offered for the discovery of the mur-
derer. It appeared that be had also asked a party, when the
bill offering the reward was read, if the actual murderer
would be pardoned, and had stated that he had something
weighing heavy on his mind. He (Dr. Brown) then de-
tailed the clivilinstances of the case, and the nature of
the evidence which he would have to present. After a few
witnesses had been called to testify to the finding of the body,
and its condition, the party above alluded to was placed in
the witness box. His testimony, both on his examination in
chief, and in cross-examination, was so much at variance with
that given before the magistrates, and he was so flatly con-
tradicted by other witnesses, that the case was stopped, and,
under the direction of his lordship, a verdict of acquittal was
taken. The prisoners were discharged in the course of the
day

MANSLAUGHTER BY A MIDWIFE.
Maria Henry, 73, stood indicted for having killed and
lain one Margaret Carter.
We also reported the circumstances of this case as detailed
at the coroner's inquest. They will be found in the Standard
of the 18th ultimo.

The prisoner was acquitted.
FORGERY

Robert Wood Richardson, 45, formerly an attorney, was
charged with having forged a receipt with the intent to defraud
John Hope.
Mr. Brandt conducted the prosecution, Mr. Wilkins de-
fended.

Mrs. Hope, having been sued through the district court,
gave the prisoner the amount of the debt and costs. He
returned her a receipt for the amount, which it afterwards
turned out had not been paid.
The jury found the prisoner guilty. His lordship sentenced
him to two years' imprisonment and hard labour.

NISI PRIUS.—TUESDAY.
DAVIDSON, PUBLIC OFFICER, V. BOWER.
Mr. KNOWLES (with whom were Mt. Crompton and Mr.
Martin) stated the plaintiff's case. The plaintiff was the
registered public officer of the Commercial Bank, at Man-
chester ; and the defendant, Mr. Alexander Bower, was
formerly one of the directors of that bank. The action
was brought to recover about £5,000, alleged to be due
from the defendant on his banking account. The action
was brought by the body of shareholders against Mr.
Bower, who, for a long time, was one of their directors, to
recover that of which he had long ago had the use and
advantage ; and the claim, he supposed was to be resisted
by Mr. Bower, upon some purely technical ground. The
bank was established in 1834, by Mr. Joseph Macardy ;
Mr. Bower was an exceedingly active man in its projec-
tion; he was one of a provisional committee of five, formed
before the bank was completed. In a little time, a number
of shares were taken up ; a deed of settlement was prepared;
and then the provisional committee-men were, with a little
exception, made directors. They were, Thomas Ashton,
Alexander Bower, Thomas Palin, Thomas Slater, and Ralph
Turner. The sixth rule in the deed of settlement provided,
that the bank should be under the control of a general board
of directors ; the seventh provided, that, till such general
board was constituted, the various business and concerns of
the company should be under the entire management of a
board, to be called the Manchester directors, who should
also have the management and control of the stock fund and
revenue of the company. The five persons just named were
the Manchester directors. It was one of the necessary quali-
fications of a director that he should take 200 shares, and ac-
cordingly every one subscribed to that amount. The business
commenced ; it soon became a flourishing concern ; branches
were established in different towns; local directors were ap-
pointed, and everything seemed to promise a lucrative busi-
ness. There was one part of the business of a director in
which they soon did some business. Having the power, they
very soon began to borrow money ; although, with a modesty
hardly consistent with their other conduct, they made no
boast of it, but kept it as quiet as they could. The 200
shares were paid for by Mr. Bower on the 27th September.
When the provisional committee were first appointed, they
reserved for distribution 'among themselves and their friends,
13,000 shares, of which he (Mr. Knowles) should not have
complained, had these been taken up and paid for. The pro-
visional committee reserved 13,000 shares for themselves and
their friends. The first deed of settlement appropriated
these shares, and the executive directors proceeded to appro-
priate the shares; and the document was signed by Mr.
Bower himself, showing that he took a part in the transaction.
The document was entitled—
" Shares appropriated upon the cash credit, at the forma-
tion of the Commercial Bank of England.—Alexander Bower,
1,500 ; Thomas Ashton, 1,500 ; Thomas Slater, 1,500 ; Tho-
mas Palin, 1,500 ; Ralph Turner, 1,500 [so that, observed
the plaintiff's counsel, each member of the Manchester
board got 1,500 shares] ; Joseph Macardy (who was the ori-
ginal projector of the bank), 2,000 shares. Interest upon
the above to be charged at the rate of 34 per cent. from the
12th February, 1835.—Ralph Turner, Chester, 600 shares ;
Anthony
Ward, Leek, 800 ; Richard Heywood, Burslem,
800; Isaac Holmes, Liverpool, 100. To pay interest at 4
per cent. from the 2d June, 1835.
accocSnigtndeidd)
not
a"ppAeLarEaXt Ral.l
irthWe BOWER,
aCobfairtmheanba."
This
nor was there any entry of it except this document. It wasnk
not till a dividend was declared, in February, 1836, that it
accounts.
on the paid-up capital for
occurred to the
A divieLtnodenter the cash credits in the gene-
ral
necessary for partieswas then declared of 8 per cent.
the preceding year, and it was there-
forehave them entered in the holdingbool(
per cent. ; he wash
the credit of Mr. Bower of £36.8 3s.T
shares on cash credits to
6teod
.fir
iwyseassBh
aaprneersentryc
wereen t
. oatnot
capital,i and thereforea he would be a clear
tahceams hacsr
paid-up
ad
dt
-ouf
p 3
on 1500 shares to that timenwtdsBe
gainer of the difference between 34 per cent. The in-
terest£23l lls. 6d. His
; adigference between
dividend on £7500 was £600; and
accordingly, in
these sums amounted to £368 Bs. 6d.
his pass-book, if he produced it, would benfo , under date
Bower was profit and
to which thel
of the 3d March, an entry, " Credit by cashutPl3odra
loss, £368 Ss. 6d." In the stock ledger Mr.
de-
bited, on the 3d June, 1836, with 1500 shares,
sit on ditto, ls. a share, £75. interest, at 34 per cetnht.,doterpoom-
the 31st December, 1835, £ll6 10s. Id. ; and on
side be was credited with the full value of those shares,
4ger
10s. ld. This stock ledger was a private book,
public shareholders had no access ; but, after the entry of
these shares in the books, they were always treated.as paid_
up capital ; they were sold like any other shares • and the
drawers always received a dividend upon them, and treated
them as so much paid-up capital, in shares. The learned