Police.
The Times, 1824-11-26T00:00:00

MANXsIONr-eouszE.-About three years ago a yoUng woman who was servant in a family residing in Somers-town,vwas triedfor setting fire to her master's hIouse, and convicted. She had committed the offence evidently for the purpose of concealing a robbery which she had effected in the absence of her master and mnistress. A 201. Bank of England note hadz disappeared, bet no trace of It had been disco- vered until a day or two ago. It had beee stoppedat theBank, and notice was sent to the tnaster of the girl. The note was immediatoly found to correspond on the face of it with the description given ef it when directions were issued to stop it at the Bank, but the back of it was covered with a piece of brown paper, and it was by no means such a note as a ma-n of business wohld be likely to take from a per- son with whom he was not well acquainted. The note was found to have been paid into the Bank by a Mr. Smith, oho sktated that he had received it trom a 3Sr.Alyers, of Kingsland-road, and Mr. AMyers slid he had got it from a kr. Sharpe; bat Mr. Sharpe not being to be round, and Alr. Alyers refusing to give such an account of the transaction as was satisfactory to the loser, It was determined that the lotnRI MAYOR should be appealed to on the subject. Mlr. Isaacs appeared for the gentleman from whiaim the note was stolen, and stated the above-mentioned circumstances. He added, that Ur. Myers had been summoned before the l?OnD AIAYOR, in consequence of baving named a person from whom the note wAs, he said, passed to him, who was no-where to be found. The claimant of the Bank-note was not present, but his wife, Mlrs. Rivett, attended, and gave evidence to tlle following effect :-Wshen she arnd her Ihusbalid resided at Somers-town, she recelved a letter containing a 201. note, directed to her husband. WVben she was opening the letter the note dropped out, and she desired the servant girl, 'who was afterwards prosecuted for-arson, to hand it to her. The glrl did sot arnd knew the value of the note. Witness put it into her work-box, an~d afterwards deposited it in the cash-box, which shce placed between her bed and mattress for swcuritk. At noon She went Oat, leaving the girl iR the house; and upon her return at half psst nine in the evening, she found that the holuse flad been set on fire, and part of the furniture burnt. It happened, howvever, that thebed and mattress were thrown out of the window by the neighbur0,.nnd the box wasof course saved ; the 201. note,hovwever,had disappeared, although the otlier articles whicb were placed in the box wete still there. The girl, who; it was supposed, waesthe thiet, watchirged with having set fire to the house, tried at the Old Bailey, and con- victed. She was not trled for the robbery, for thee01. never appear- ed till now. Witness didnot-know the. number of the iote, nor could she identify it. l Ur. J. Isaacs, solicitor for Alr. Miyers, stated that his client had taken the note fairly in his transactions as a tradesmran, and there was no evidence to prove that it was the.note which had been taken from the box. The solicitor for Mr. Smith, who offered the naote at the tank, stated, thathiis client, who was now minus the 201., on acoouant of the stoppage of the note, wlhich he had rfteived from Mr. Mlyers, said that his client wasready torender all the assistancein hispower. MIr. Burwash said that he had traced the note to .Ur..- 1yer4, 6f Kingaland-road. Witness, upon queshoning fr. Mycrs's shoriWn, was told by him that the transaction was not his lna.9ter's. but his.own._tbat he had received4the note fromna Mlr. Sharpe &t farincr, atSevendabil, in Kent, w hnrrt he knew well, for sonte woollen rags, asaihpl of which he 'h6wed to' ivitness: The shopmuan of Mr. fllyersailo showed -him an entry in a book, but there was no aame to-it. :~Witness.asked. him.why he did bis business in so. loos and careless a manner, anti the shoproan said it certainly twas S siuy think,alid that Alr. Atyeriscolded hith for it. Afterwards the shop. man-sald he knew nothing of Mllr. Sharpc. Witness went to Sevent oaks, and made the most minute inquires.* The solicitor for the clainiant of the Banlk-notc requested the Load Mayor would ark the shopman whose writing was in 3 particular spot on the back of the note. dr. fMyers's solicitor objected to the question, and desired that no question should be answered until the cave was supported by legal evidence. The reason lr. dyers Ptas disinclined to give anyassist- ance in tle investigation was, becmuse when he firat accounted for the possession of the note, he was told that he had not spoken a wDrd of truth. The LonnD LMAYOU raid, he could not call upon Mr. Myers to account for the possession of the note, as the identity was not proved legally, although the notice sent from the Bank audthe note exactly corresponded. He therefore directed that dilr. Rivett should attend at the justfec-roonm to give evidence an to the identity of the note. In the mean time he should impRound the 20L note, conceiving that his duty to the public requited that such a course should be taken. Wr. Isaacs contended that a felony had been made out by the Bank netice, which was grounded on an affidavit made to that effect; and that the Lord Player was empowered to examine the shopman. This the LORD MlAYOR refused to do until thie necessary evi- dence shall have been produced. The note was then impounded in the, hands of Air. fobler, and a day appointed for a further investigation. Ady, of Hotendsditch, thought proper to pay the costs of his case, and to deposit in the hands of flir. Hobler. for the use of Capt. Vene- gas the sove-eign vhich he obtained from Mr. Bicknell, thesolicitor. We have reason to believe, that whatever may be the wrong done to dmund Angelini, teacher of the European languages, poetrv, oratory, and lJr v0orale, by the Austrian Ambassador, in natgranting him a passport, yet he is not the pitiable object he represented him- self to be when before the Lord Mayor the other dav. Information Is invariably elicited from every quarter by any public untTuth or exaggeration so that impostors have no chance of success by ap- pealingto hunanity through the medium of a Mansion-house reportL AfAIRLsououos.sTrLE'ET.-A man named Lirtdsyzy has been some days in custody at this office, undor the following curious cir. cumstances:-_t appeared that some time ago, AlMr. Hill Alortimer, an eminent solicitor residing in the Albany, had a box containing a number of valuable papers, including several deedis of considerable consequence, by some means or another stolen from him, and he was qitite at a loss to account for the disapprarance of the box, or upon 'Whom to place any suspicion. Several days had passed slway without his beinig able to form any conje-ture upon the mysterious circumsbtnce, when one mnorning he received an anonymous letter by- the Twopenny Post, saying thlat if' Mr. Mortimer set anv value upon the papers or box whicit he had lost, and would Put an adver- tisement in a certain Morning Paper, addressed to X. V. to that ef- fect, beahould hear further upon that subject. lr. Alortimer did accordingly put an advertisement in the newsp3per, out of which arose anegottation, by letters and advertisements, asto the sum which Mr. ifortimer might wish to give for the recovery of the box; but althougKh Mi. Mortimer received a numberofanonymousletters, all in the same hand.writing upon the subject, and although he was fully determined to abide honourably by any offer or promise he should make, yet so wily and cautious were his opponents in the negotia. tion, that he found it useless to continue it any longer, and broke it offseveral weeks ago, at the same time with an intimation that it might be again opened whenever the otler side was disposed to act with any degee, or, indeed, reciprocal advantaze ; for hititerto the sslv hasianropcsat bv the p-arty in possession was, that Mlr. Alor- tler should deposit 101. with the lasndlord of the Fox and Goose, to be given to any person applying for it, and leave it to the honour of that person so bring, the box and papers afterwards, and leave them in the careofthe same landlord in return. Now, although fr. Alortimuer was not at all anxious to break off the negotiation, knowing that his hand was in the lion's moutlh, because one mo- ment would have reduced the papers to ashes, if it so pleased their possessors yet he ha(l not that high opinion of his opponents' ho. nour as to intrust 101. into their poisecsien, and also still leave thera a soledominion over the papers; and in consequence, as this pro. posal was stated to be a sine qu&t ,?ol1, Bir. Alortiiner let the subject drop. Notwithstanding this negotiation, Air. IAortimer, of course, was not negligent in procuring the necessary substi- tute deeds for those missing, and had pretty well completed the number, when one day last week the prisoner Lindsay call ed upon him, and intimated that he called upon the subject of the negotiation that had been solong, and unfortunatelywithoursuc. cess, carried on respecting the papers which Air. Dlortimer had lost, and that the party in possession of the box was then ready again to treat upon fair and honourable terms; and he (the prisoner) was furnished with fuill powers to treat accorlingly. AMr. Mortimer said, that the papers, from the precautions hewas compelled to take, of substituting others, had now become comparatively of little value to him; but still he would willingly givea moderate sum to get them back. The prisoner, to the astonlshment of Mr. ItXortimer, again set up the sinc qua non of depositing the 101. with the landlord; but this AMr. *Mortimer at once rejected, and told the ptisoner, that if he would fairly bring forward the papers, he (Air. AMortimer) would that instant pay into the pri- soner's hands 81., but upon no other conditions would he pay one farthing. The prisoner novr assumed a very high tone indeed; it was, he said, a matter of perfect indifference to him individually, as he had no possible interest in the negotia- tion ;.and as he was sure his principal would not agree to such terms, he begged to finally break off the treaty, and withdraw. {Mr. MAor- timer, however, said, that as he now plainly saw there was not a par. ticle of "lhonouratsoigstthieves,"and as they had acted all through such a scurvy part in the negotiation, he must beg to be excused from suffering the prisoner to withdraw so easily. and, sending for a constable, gave himn into custody as aw acaomplice in the robbery and he was brought to this office. He has sirce undergone several private examinations, andi nearlv as much negotiation has been re- sorted to as before his appreheniion; but all that could be gotfrom him is the following story:-A man, he said, at present on board a convict-ship at Sheeriess, wrote to him to call upon Air. Aler- timer on the subject of the papers, and to effer to return them upon getting 101.; but further tlan this he knew not of them. Uc wac asked to produce this person's letter; but he said he had de- stroyed the letter, and of course could not produce it. As it was stus. pected the prisoner himself was the writer of all the letters. Various stratagems were used to obtain a specimen of his hand-writing, but all would not do, nothing could induce himn to take a pen in hand. He did not, however, like the idea, or ratler tbe reality of imprison- ment, and through the medium of a girl of the towsV of his acquaint. ance, he gave it to be understood that if five guineas were paid to the landlord of the Fox and Goose, and the prisoncr's liberty promised, and no farther qtestions arked, the papers should be delivered up. Accordingly an officer was sent to the Fox and Goose with the five guineas, nnd he communicatet hia business to the landlord wiso went out for some time. In a few minutes alter his retumu, the of- ficer was toldl there was a person outside who wanted him, nsd on his golng out, he there found a man, with a bag, containing all the papers, which he delivered up to the officer, and received the five gumeas as the reward of his wonesty, and in pursuance of the agree. ment the prisoner was discharged. It has been ascertained that a correspor.lence hns for some time past been carried on between a man named Barker, on board a convict-ship,for trunsportation,and the prisoner and others, relative to something connected witb their meetings at the Fox and Goose. POLICE.