Police.
The Times, 1824-08-27T00:00:00

AIA!t8X6TOsIisUSi-'PhO7na* Goaimakiis ~~Al chlarge by, Air, Pellatt, Of St. Patul's church-vard,'the eminent glass manusfacturer, with havingt approspriated a ch~eck for 1101., under the following cir- cuismatances : Mfr. Pellaittsta-ted,tlhat hehid received information fronithebank-. ing-house of Sir Johin Perring and Co. that n person who they hz%d rea.son to believe had not lhonestly comeby hischeck, had justgotthc amount of it U1101.) in bank-notes. Ile ha but a -hort timre before Cut a check into his pocket for that siuns, and dlid not mniss it unitil he learned Ihis loss fromt the 'banking-house. lHe believed it had dropped from him as lie was stepping into his chaise. At all events, hie was convinced it had not been stolen from him. The police hav-. ing been informed of the circumstancesi, and heard a descriptioni of the person who hiad taken up the amount, proceeded with the mpoat Laudable activity anid skill. Fogg, the marsbalman, and Daniel Forre.ster, verysaeon afterwardsgot holdofeveryshillingofthesum. Daniel Forrester stated, thatt he and Fogg having made the neces- sary inquxiries, pr-oceeded to Kent-street, in the Borough, where they stationed thtemnselves, andl had not remained long when they saw the prisoner walking towards them with a new smnock frock con. Wit- ness istopped hiin, a-,iR aittlressqing himn by Iila name, askedI him where the money was which he had got for the check ? The prisoner replied, withouit'hesitation, that it was in his pocket. WIitnes put his hand into the rocket, andl took out 110 sovereigns. f t appeared that. tite prisorer and another man had botha found the check in TLeaileuhall.stTet; that the prisoner took it up and askedl his companion to take it into the banking..houqe anrX get it cashied. For this service the prisoner promised his companion the share he wou'd be entitled to as part finder; but, upon getting the bank-notes in:o hlis hands, the pri'soner was so captivated with the treasure, that Iis couldI not think, of parting with muchi of it, and accordingly off~erol his companion but a mnere trifle, whichi was re- jected with indign scion. Althioughbthcprisioner mightlhave expectedI what followed, froo Wis refuasal to reward his comtirade "1 like a gen- tleman," he pockcted the rejiected remunerationi deliberately, and they separated. 1':he spirit of revenge its thisi Instance counteracted all thie efforts of svaricm. Tue prisoner ran off, withi thie greatest speedl to the Bank of England, apprehending thiat a hue and cry would be raisedI after himn, and obtained sovereigns for the bankc- notes, andl his injt-red comipanion ran ofF with equal celerity to the banking-house, to tell what a villain Gossinskip was in appropriattinig thie money of Mlr. Pellatt. The prisoner here galil, that he really dlid not knowt whose the check was, lie liedl found it, and sent a person into Sir John Perring'q hanking..house with it; hut his directions were, that the chleck, should be left for the owinerg, and that nothing bult the rewordl for honesty should he taken. The clerk, however, having madle no observation about the business, and given notes to the amouint of 1101., no objection was made, and (we understood the r!isoner to siay) that sum being a sufficient reward, he put it into ~is pocket without intendling to injuire any body. The LORD MAxY01tasked Mr. Pellattwhethnerlhe was convincedl that the check lisa not been stolen from him. Mlr. Pellatt sail, lie conLsidered it almost implos%ihle. He was sa- tisfied that no robbery had been committed. The LoRD IMAYOR considered the ease onie of the deepest di3- honesty. He didl not know how to draw a distinction betweent such a finding and a felony; and he believed the Judges were daily re- mioving those nice distinctionis which so frequently interfered with the dispensation of justice. and supplied the very wvorst of characters with opportunities of escape. Hfe had the other day committed a womnan for felony, against whom the evidence went no fuzrther than to state that a letter, with money in it, had been lost, and that it had been tracedI to her possession. Trhe present was surely as aggravated a case. The findler knew that he was takiiig or stealing the property of another, ar,d had the means in his power of ascertaining to whotn that property belonged. Thle prisoner saidi he could bring forwardl a numnber of persons to testify to the excellence of his chiiracter, and am ngst them was his present master, with whom he had lived upwards of'14 years. The LORD MAYOR.-And still you were willing to give up your character anti all your fair prospects in life for 1001. [lad you taken this check to the o',vner, you would not onlv have received a liberal reward, but your character woidld be still higher in the opinion of youir employer. I am disposedl to think thiat you hiave been guilty of a felony in atppropriating this cheek, and I shall remand you until I hiave an oppnrtunity of ascertainiagti the opinion of:my legal advisers. The Chief Clerk said, that perhaps thecre could not occur a more favourable opportunity of deciding in wliat light thie Judges viewed ofl'enccs of the description just stated than the present case afforded. fIt had all the moral licinousness of theft, and by the punishment of it, the public would be greatly benefitted. The LORD MAAyoR agreed In thisl opinion ; but suggested, withi the hiumanity which never fladls to interpose between a prisoner and his punishment, that an impreishin existed amongst the lower orders of society, that a man was entitled to whatever he found. Nothing couild be more fatal to honest dealing than the admission of such a principle for a moment but ahlthough such a doctrine could not be tolerated, there were many who considered that the finding gave thiem a certain title. Thie prisoner was then remandedi. Robert hVightnoaa, who was some days ago charged with ha'ving stolen a letter conta,ininglialf a sovereigna,wasbrought up for anothiet examination. It will be recollected that Mr. Hammer objected te, the committal of the prisoner, upon the ground that the statute did not comprehend the ease. SIr. DoWLsING, the solicitor to the Post-office, on the present oc- casin, aid ie equied he cmmitalof the prisoner on'the 3d sec- tio oftheact fo stalig te ltte oly ; atnd stated that the case the Kin aginstAlbi" ws a aseini point. Mr. ammr's ler aai, te cae aludedrto wvaa not at all analo. notewareual traced to thie prisoner. aBn-oe hc ak Arl owes said, theAkttorney..General had determined to pro. ceed on th dscion, under the imprmsion that the note mighit not be trae;bth admitted that the conviction took placee upon the general merits of the evidence, and not upon the miere proof-that 3 letter hadl been stolen. The LOaD MIAYOR certainly thought there was no anatlogv be. twVeen thie cases ; but hie detenniinedl to commit the prisoner, confident that a decision of such imnportance to the public ought to be lef't to a i ury,-The prisoner was then commit-ted for trial. MAlAYLEDOrNg.OFFICE. -Mir. Osblorn, the proprietor of ex- tnsive livery-stables, in Mlontague-street, yesterday appeared'befure the sitting Malgistrate (I r. RAIwL5YSON) on a warrant for fraurlu. etlwihoding ptart of the purchaste-mneyop f a horse intrusted to hi f l,by yPh iness Coyne, Esq., of relbeck-istreet. M.oyestated, that hiaving a mare for whiich he had no use, li eti othe stable of thec defendant for sale. distinutly telling hm that the lowest price would be 20 guineas ; a'nd that if sold at -so low a price, he would not allowv any commIssion. On the morn.- ing of Monday lasit, Air. Osbomn's siervant waited on him, and in. quiredi if he wouldi take 201., as a person hash called who -would give that auwn. 'IVitness returned answer, he would not take it; and a few hours afterwards went down to the stables himself, where he saw Mlr. Osborn, who told him that he hiad sold the mare for 20 guineas to a Mlr. Hall. He thought no mrore of the circuimstance, till Mr. [fall called on him thle following dayt. Mlr. Hall, of the RAidi7ng-chool, Regent's-park, deposedi, that on Mlondlay m-orning lie calle at the stables of the defendanit, and was t?ld by the foreman that lie hasd a horse to show him worthi his no. tice. WIitness looked at it, and inquired its price, which he was told was 25 guineas. He also was told that it weas the property of' Ar. Coyne--that it was perfectly souind, aihough that gentlemnan would not give a wvarrantyt with it. Alter making the mare go through hier paces iii the yard, witniess niountrd her and took her intot thec Newv-road, ilesiring the foreman, while lie exercised hier there, to send io Mlr. Coyne, offering him 20 gui- niens for her. On hsis return, the foreman told hiint, that Mlr. Coyne had sent word hack that he would not abate any thiing froin 25 gui- neas, antI that iflhe couldt not get that price, he would scudt her out to grassf. Thie forelitan added, that it wouald be idle to repeat h~isa offr of'20 guineas, aus there, ivas a person then in the yard who would give 241. for iter. WVitne-ss, on hearing this, agreed to give thie price asked, AntI vwent into the counting-house to settle wvith Mr. Osborn, wimp in the course of coniversation, on its beingr remarked by witness that there was no warranty, reslied-1" that thp) mare wras perfectl~v sound; but that Mr. Coyne made it at rule niever to give a warranty. ir. Coynie proved the miare bought by Mlr. Hall to be that he sent to thle stables. Mlr. Osborzi, in defence, dleclared that lie had told the mare early On theo mloiiday- siorning, to a Mlr. Moody, for 20 guineas, and that the subsequent sale to Mfr. hfall was oin crornaission for that gen- ilenian. Al.r. Mloodly being 8worn, -tatedl, that he was it coach-proprietor, andi horse dealer, residing at 59. Barbicatn, anti that early nit Aloiiday uu'orning, he went into thea stables, anti after looking at Mlr. CoYTIe'S Mtare, algreed to give AMr. Osborn twenty guineas hbr it.. Wi ness stopped on the preinisesi sotie timie after makinig the pur- chase, antd whtile titere was told that there was a person in this yard who had taketi a fancy- to themi are,whichli e would purchasle fromr himn at a profit. Witnes-s had no objection, and told the foreman of Air. Osborn, that if he cotuld get 25 guineas he might sell lier. Shiortly after he wvas toldi that the gentleman had conisented to give that price. Air. RAW LI 8Oy.%...I thiink thie present twus one In wbluih circtin-i stances of' frauid are so apparent, as to compel me to call upon Alr. Osborn to give ball, andI I sliould adviseM Ar. Coyne to prefer an in- dictment for that offlinee, unless, indeed, lie preferred indicting ror a conspiracy ;Anti I cannot help thlinkini thaft, the sale to Mrl. Moody hias a very ausp iciekus appearatnce. I?iave kiiown convictions onl tuttich slighiter evidenice. Its this course of the proceedings, and aftler the decision, an offer was titade by Air. Coyne to forego all proceedhnws, if Mlr. OA=or Would pay over to Itins the diffeeiteue; 'but the latter refuised so tdo- ing, anct foundi bail, him-,elf~ in 801., and two sureties in 4101. eachl. AI r. Jtanes Spentdlove atppearedi to a suxnimons for keeping a fero- cious (log. The complainant, Mlatthiew Hlarris, it appeard,ra Passing b'y the door without eveni prerciviti' the dog, whric1h-Aspra,n-g uipon himn, and very severely lacerated hiis feg. lie hiad since. lhat the Piece cut out by a siurgeon, And wvas unaible to return to liig work till ten iltays afterwardls. '(lie defendant liad offeredt him a sovereign, bitt lie hail declinedi taking lt,as he diii inot think it a sunfficient coinl- penaation. Air.1AW'LINsox ordleredl the dlefendant toenter itito recogn)izsnce to apipear at thle sessions, and advised thiem to retire, and endleavour to collie to termns about thle colin pensetion. Slir. Eakita, of' Oxford-street, was, fined 40s. tinder the Street Act, f~ Cusig aquatityof ubbsh o h sot on the pathway, so as in cutody pon te folowingcharg oir ery, was brought up for Price, a watclinian, deposed, that about two o'cloclc on the morn. ing ofSatturday last, while on duity in Broad-street, St. Oiles's, lIe hcardt a coachmani, now present, fall from his coach-box, and appa- rently much hurt. Witness immediately welit to his assistance, and springing his rattle, called o'her watchmen, amongst whom was the prisoner, to help himl in placing the wounded man in the coach, and taking him, formedicalassistance,tothc workhouse; and witness told some one to get into the coach, and help to lift the man in, as lie was quite senseless. The prisoner volunteered to get into the coach, and while recuiving thc coachman, witness percciver the prisoner thrust his hand into the wounded maan's breeches pqcket, and heard money jingle. Witness called to the prisoner and asked what he was about; and prisoner replied, " Nothing." Witness theii saw him deposit something oar one of the steats of the coach, anti sit down on it; and on the witness forcing him from his seat, he found tinder him the money now produced, amounting to lfis. Tho whole party then went to the watchhotse, and although the coaclimap received a severe contusion on the head, yet in a little time lie yas well enough to be sent honie in his coach, after being sea;rched by the constable of the night, who'found 7s. in one of his pockets. Several othier watchmen confirmed Peice'* statement. The eoaclman being sworn, said, that at the tinde he received the faU he bad 7a. in one breeches pocket, and about 1is. or l6s. in the other., Since thecircumstance occurred, the prisoner, he said, had requested him to say-ttiat he himself placed the meney for aafety on the seat of the coach; but lie told bim be could not say so, asihe had no knowledge of having done ft. The prisoner pesitively denied the charge, but acknowledged that 1 the tnoney was found under him, on the seat, but how it tame there e knew not. He dental havingvoluiseeeed tget Snto the cd3ch but satid tnat Price desired bim pereonally to do so. Ue hae been 20 years a-housekeeper in'the parish, and ziever tadl anty imiputation on his haracter before. Afr. OE, the magistrate, inquired if there had ever been any qutrrel ot Jealousy between the prisoner and Price? The parish officers, wvho attended the examination, said that they had made every inquiry upon that point, but could not iearn that there ever was; and at the same time, they were bound to say, that the prisoner bore a most excellent character in the parish. Mr. RoLx sail that, no doubt, the prisoner would have the benefit of that character in another place, but he must be sent to take his trial upon the charage, and he wvas accordingly commairted to Newgate. Wonstri P-STREET.-Yesterdlay .Joe vittrks, John Naberton, Edway d Chureh, and Tilliam Lane,were brought to this office, or suspicion of having been concerned in an attempt to break into a public-house, the sign of the Shears, In Chequer-alley, Whitecross. str',et. It appeared, thaf between two and three o'clock in the morning,an ish maid-servayrnt, who slept in the attic with three of thc land- lord's childiren, was awakenel by the breaking of a pane of glass, and, jumping out of her bed, perceived a man half in at the window endeavouring, with the assistance of another who stood outside, to force his wav in. She called out; and they tolJ her not to make a noise, and tfiev would not hurt her; hut if she spoke a word more. they threatentd they would take her life. She instantly seized a poker chat stood at the fire-place, and struck the villain who was entering a severe blow. The ruffian who was outside, at the same moment threw at her a tile which he had pulled from the roof of the house, which struck her withi great violence on the forehead. She then screamed out " Thieves ! murder !," and such like, which awakened and alarmed the whole family. IHcr master ran up to her assistance with a dIrawn sword, and as he entered the room the villaini precipitately fled, and succceeded in eff'ecting their escape. The house having been previously attempted within the last fortnight, the description given by the landlord of some suS. picious characters whom he had observed lurking about the pre- mises led to the apnieliension of the prisoners. The servant girl in her examnination said, the prisoner Molarks very strongly resembled the man who was trying to get in at the window, of whose face she had been enabied to get a very full view by the light of a taper which he held in his hand. She could not, however, swear to h;is features, from his face being thickly covered with smut and dust. flaberton she distinctly and positively identified as the man whosm she had seen in her rxistress's room between one antl two o'clock in the morning of last Tuesdlay week, when she went up stairs to bed, on whiCt occasion heeffected his escape throvgh thec window. Of the other two men she knew nothing. tier testimony respecting Haberton was fully confirmed by that of her mnistress, who stated, that as she was going unt stairs to bed at the time before- mentioned, attended by the girl, they heard the step of some person waIking acrogs her room; and on entering it thev saw the prisoner, who immediately threw up the sashi of one of the window>, and made his escape. >arks very clearly prored an atibi, anid was consequently dis. charged, as werc also Church and Lane, there being no evidence to implicate theimi. Haberton was remanded for bail, of which he wvas required to give 24 hours' notice. The Shears, it seems, was formeriv a noto.ious resort for thieves and otherbad characters; and its ill repute ledl to the forfeiture of its licence, in consequence of which it was for a long time shut up. The licence, however. has been latelv renewved to its nreient occu. pant, whose steady and persevering efforts in keeping the house clear of ruspic' us characters have caused " a dead set" to bemadeathim. UNIONar.sALL..-Yesterday morning, upon Mr. ALLEN'S taking the chair, he was informed that a fire b-oke out at one o'clock thit morning in the house of M:r. Ardenaugli, a stationer, in the Lon. don-road, and that it was full 20 minutes after two o'clock before anv water could be procured from the water pipes. The eonsequence was, that the house together with all the property therein, was de- stroye,l. The firemen and watchmen, someof whom were in attend. ance, all asserted, that had there been an early supply of water, the premises, in all probability, would have been saved from destruiction. irt was stated that the fire wwas prevented from comnnunicating to the adjoinine houses from the want of water, by the great exertions of the police. the firemen, and the neighbours, who all assisted in pausingalongbucketesof water from the surrounding houses, which kept the flames under, until, at length, after tbe expiration of nearly an hour and a half, the water was turned on, the engines commenced operations, and the fire was extinguishedl. Hall, the chief constable, stated, that at all the fires which had re- centlv occurred in the district, there was uniformly a want of water. At a late fire that broke out in Kent-street, several houses were burnt, although innumerable engines were on the spot, but were conipletely useless for nearly an hour. hlr. ALLE:n observed, that frequent complaints of the scarcity, and length of titue which clapsed before any water could be procured from the pipes, were made to him. It WaS a serious matter that the lives and property of individuals were thus exposed to such risk. 'I'hc worthy ilagistrate then directed Mr. Reeves, the chief clerk to apprise the Directors of the Old Iambeti Water lWorks of the ahove-mentioned circumstances. The house and property of Mr. Aidenaugh, we understand. were instired at ithe Sun Fire-office. In the course of the day, Mr. Smithers, the aeronaut, attended the office, fbr the purpose of soliciting the magistrates of this county for their permissionfor him to ascend in a balloon from the Montpellier gardens, in aid of the Greek nation. He said, that it was his original interntion to havetascended from the Artillery-ground, and for that purpose the following letter was addressed bv Mr. Gilchrist, the Chairman of the Greek Committee, to the Chairman of the Court of Assistants. on the sub;iect:_ " Sir,-In consequence of the bearer, A1r. Smithers, having made a liberai offer of his services, by the proceeds of' his ascent in an elegant balloon, to the Greek Committee, in favour of the Greek na- tion, I have been desired to applv, in his behalf, to the generous consideration of your Court for the use of the Artillery-ground on that occasion ; for which the Committee will deem themselves particuthrly obliged to yourself and the Coutt. M r. Smitiers will explain the nature of his present novel enterprise, and if he can clearly prove that the premises can suffer no injnrv from his ope- rations, you will probably feel an rouch inelined nst the Greek Com- mittee, at this critical time, to succour our brethren in their despe- rate struggles against the Infidel. " I have the honour, to be, &c. JOs1N B. GILC11RTST.'" Air. Stnithers gaid, that the Directors of the Court of Aspi8tants had ref'used this application, on the ground of rhe injuries their pro- pertv sustainedl when 11r. Lunardi ascended in his ballooin from the Art;llery.ground. He (Mr.Smithers) had the pernission of the proprittor of hiontpellier-gardens to ascend from thence. and if the county magistrates would grant their consent, together with the as- sistance of the police, he would be enabled to serve a cause which every lover of humnanity must have at heart. 31tr. AeLLEN said, that he could not see the slightest obiection in granting site request, especially when it was to be perfonned in aid of the .istressed Greeks. He then askedil Mr. Smithers on what day he intended to ascend. Mr. Smithers repliel, that that de- pendedI upon the operation of the gas; he was now in treaty on that subject; but he thought the day would be either WVednesdar next or the Monday following. He would take care, he said, the public should isect with no disappointment on the occasion, aa he woald publicly announce his ascent. Tl'he worthy M1agistrate, having consulted Hall, the chief consta- ble, on the regulations which lie should adopt for the preservation of peace on the occasion, requested that Mt.e Smitthers would setid himn three or four tickets ot' admissi on tot ise above gardens, for him- self anti friends to witness the ascent. Air. Smithers then expreissed his thanks to the Magistrate for the urbanity shown hiin, and witltdrew. PoLrcR.