New-York daily tribune. [volume] (New-York [N.Y.]) 1842-1866, 1857-03-25

In giving account, some time since, of the trial
for the robbery Of gold bars on the South Eastern
Railway, between London and Dover, we mentioned
an important chaDge-One Of many which have 70
Gently been made in England. BY the old English
Aw-which is still in force in this State, and most
of the United States convicted feon cannot be
witness, the reason given for the exclusion being
that person of such bad character cannot be trusted
to testify, and that the jury will be more likely to
be msled than to be enlightened BY such evidence.
Under the change in the law to which We have re-
rred, conviction for felony does not stand in the
way of the admissibility Of Witness but goes only
to his credibity it being left to the jury to judge
how far bis testimony is confirmed by circumstances
or by other evidence in the case, and what weight
it ought to have. Under this new rule of evidence
the robbers of the SOUTHEASTERN Railway were
convicted on the testimony Of confederate, whose
story, notwithstanding he was under sentence OF
transportation at the time, for his connection with
another matter, and notwithstanding he admitted
him,elf to be Influenced by feelings of malevolence
toward one Of the prisoners received nevertheless,
and undoubtedly deserved, the implicit confidence
of the court and jury. Our last London papers con-
tain the report Of another very important case, tried
before the Central Criminal Court of that city, in
which conviction was also obtained on precisely
similar evidence, namely, that Of cOnfederates, who
at the time of testifyng were prisoners in Nswgate
under sentence Of transportation.
The principal defendant in this case, one James
Townshend Saward, though described in the indict-
ment as laborer, vas in fact barristeratlaw, or
rather, formerly had been one having been called to
the bar in 1e43 by the Society Of the Inner Temple
He had long since abandoned legal chicsneries for
others Of an illegal character but was still famiiary
known to the rogues and thieves Of the metropolis,
with most of whom he appears to have been in COM
munication, as I" Counsellor Saward." He had, in
fact, been mixed up in the South Eastern Railroad
gold robbery, having been the person through whom
The robbers disposed of part of the stolen bullion
He appears, however, to have chiefly devoted himself
to system Of forgeries, which he carried on upon
very systematic plan, and with special precautions
against detection. Any thief who, by picking
pockets or breaking into houses, came into
uos,ession of Cancelled checks or blank checks
such as the party robbed was accustomed
TO ufe, carried tne III W OdWdIu. 1not Poisoh
then filed cut the blank checks after the
s;mGtude of the Cancelled checks, or if only blank
checks had been got some device was employed to
Get copy of the signature TO be initiated. Thus
LAWYERS were employed to write letters for pre-
tended debts, with provision for getting possession
of the answers. But in all these transactions Saw
ard kept entirely out of sight 1t was his business
to prepare the checks only. The getting the blanks
the getting the signatures to be initiated, and the
getting the money, if it was got was in the bands
OF other parties. Some innocent individual, such
as waiter at tavern, was usually employed to
present tie checks, but he was always followed
though unknown to himself, BY one of the confed.
crates in order to see that if be got the money he
took il to the person who had sent him with tho
check or if any difficulty occurred in the payment
that notice might be at once given to the party In
waiting for the money.
Owing to saws,d's s,est adroitnsss sad his