The Kidnapped Child Resto...
The Times, 1824-09-27T00:00:00

, [romn. thie Lceefr Algrcsirp, Laewi eatniioueed tha~ethecidso from its poarents Hat lslet by Cllarlotte Shit`w,ssifid ?ecck, onl the 23d of June, had been thundhis Swansea, in G7amorgaudhibie, and~ that Shatw was in csod-j ealotated that Alr. Roaid, the chief constable of.Leegls, and illim Roers,the fitther.of the child, lIed l~tlift'%s place on Mondy evning the13th Insatant, to restore the chiild to his homne, and o brng te woan. into Yorkshiire, *here the crime was com- mittd, t undrgo er trial. The first interviewr between the! flather ans.his hild at wansa i represented to us ats affecting in the ex- trem. Shw, t sems, w.dtold thte boy cha-t his f'athser, mother, and iste, wre al d ad ad ctie little wandera seamned to thiink thathe bhelda sprit in the formn of his father; a,i little tinme con- vIncd hm tat e was flesh and blood,-and when he vras told th3t his mther, and si%ter, and gtandsnother were still alive, It appeared to pouce tipot his mnind something Ilke the feelings that a happy famPIl will experience oil their meeting at the resurrection. The idea ofthe deathi of his relaitions was, however, still so strollg, and had been worked into hiis youing mind so artfullv, that it retuirned upon him again and againi and he inquired in whbat grave-ard his mothier was laid, Wvhere dey had buried his sister, and whilere his poor old grandmother. 'Ehe first caresses and explanations hiaving Passed, 'illiam PRogerLs began to inquire Into tIle particulars of tile distcorery of Shaw and the childi, when lite was told that Air, Mlartin 13evan, the otitier of' the pottery in Swansea, hiad reatd in the newt. papers, week al'ter weak, the particulars of thiepursuit aLfter Shiaw anid Lthe chiild, and thlat thle narrative of Rogers inoertee Ini the Leeds Afer.. ellry, and copiedl into the Lhondon papers, had particularly arre3ted hiis attention. No sooner did bea see Shiare and th4 chlid, thian lie beganu to ilitertain suspicions, and when sIte had been at work three days he sent to Mlr. BYan, tieseiperinteenlent of hil,tworkl, and putting the news. paper withi the description of the womian into hls hantd, asked him if he knew any person whioanswered thatt description, to which he replied Lhat he thought the stranige woman that had just come thtere did,a.nd thtat %he called hemelf Shaw. Trhis was confirmiation strong, andI 311r. Blryant proceededi to hier lodlgings,, whiere she liad retired on ai pretence of ill fitaltit, and told her his suEpicions, At first shie renewed the sitory of the child belcnging to lier deceased aister, whlo hiad died, asl she said, in lFranice; but on the matter being more closely pressed upon her, she confessed that the boy was the son of WVilliamn Rogers, of Hlilshet,- near Leeds, and thtat shie hiad stolen himl stway from liii parenits about two months ago.. On this disco. vee~y a wonstab~le was sent for, whio took the woman into custody, an Alr. Bryant hatd little Rogers taken to his own house, atitd treat. ed huin as oite of his own tkmihy, till the father arrived, anld iso long atfterwvards ashe remained in Swansea. On examinitigtheechild for tht mole or Ilesh.mark, Ax menitioned in the advertisement, its back was found to poe extremnely black and diszoloured, and it ws~s not till four days after he wast taken into Mlr. Rryarnt's hiouse that the skin hsad so fair recoVTered its natural hue, that the mark. could b-e disco. veTedi. The inference from thNis fact is, that the child had been beaten unmercifully, and according to his own acecount, his " Aunty Shaw" frequently pinchied his ear till it " blooded." His feet, too, were miuchi blistrred, As mighit have been expeetted, frtom the fust extent of country which they hiad traversed since his departure from Iiunslet ; buit his general health dees not seem impaired. He is a line, chubby, spirited lad, somewhat thinner for his trmvels, ansi vs. ther little of his age. All the good clothes that he wore 'when hie was taken from hils fastlier's house had disappeAred, and given place to the tatteredi garb of' a young Gipsy. On their way to Leeds, litla Rogers seemed very miuch afraidI of being a aN placed in the hands of his "1 Aunit Shiaw," antI saihlof her, that he would"1 kill her like a Pig-" At Barnsley, and at Wakefield, where her faime was known, the populace seemed to enter into the child's feellngs.,and the expression of public indignation was loud anid measLcing. Last Mfonday eveni nr,hetvewe. nintexid tsltsro'XDclt, the fat'her and the ch'ildi arrived at Hunslet amidst thecoiigratulationsof the neigh- bourltoodl. The mneeting olt the moth er and her lost child was most affecting. After the first emotions hiad su'esided, the idea of she death of liia little sister again retumned uponl him, and he Inquired of his mother where she was buried. On being told thiit sbe still survived, and on- seeing her sleeping in bed, lie threw himself upon heruanti overwhelmed hier withi his caresses. It not haIngbe LhOught saf'e to expose Share to th,e danger of' tle poPular Infdig'na. tion thsat existed against ber, she was lert at WVakefield House et' Correction on Monday nighit, and brought to our prison before dav. light in themnorning. At eleven o'clock on Tuesday she rvas brought up for examinationL before thie Mayor at the Court-hotise ; on which occasioit, Rogers and his wvife were In attendance, and stated in sub. stance, that the child was taken f]rom their housie on Wednestday the 23d of' June, by Shaw, who hiad lodgedl in the neighbourhiooll for live nmonths, undetr the prtetence that Mrs. Urquhbact, a shiop. keeper, in Leeds, in whose service Shats hadl been for about a fort. nighit, wiahed hint togo and platy writh her daughter. When the, child left home, it was dressed up in its best clothes for the visit. Between three and four o'clock of the afterRoon of the same day, Sliawv returned without the citildl to Ropers's house, and brouight M1rs. Rogers a piece of riband for Joseph's seal cap, whichi she said her mnistress hadi 8ent, at the isame time informing her that Mlrs. Urmluliart wishied thie child to atop and play with her little daughter duting tile races, anid begged that he might remalit there until Friday niglits, which she shouldt consider a great favour, and would make Mlrs. Rogers a handsome present for her kindness. The clhild, she sautl, was extremely happy, amusing himself with a Piano, aid ishe wvisited hiis nilzht.gowvn to be sent. Thils request Shaw mixed up with a due share of flattery as to the beatuty of the childl, sad the poor womran, suspecting no ill, consented, anid gave lhet the ailghtregown. On Fridlay evening Mlrsq. Rogers went for her childi to Leeds, and asked at Mirs. Ucrquhart's for Charlotte Shaw, wvhen, to liar consternation, shec learnt that Shaw had quitted Mrs%. Urqa- hart's service at the beginning of the weak, and that, thoughi she hiad been there on Wednesday, to boy a little riband, ishe had not stop ped above half an houir, when she departed with the childr,anzl .neter of theni had been seen by the family since. In the reliuion of these circumstances, the maternal feelings of Mris. Rogers were rery mnuchi affected, and it was some time before she could recover Su lcient composure to give liar evidence. At the coniclusion of her leposition, she said, that shie had never seeni the child front Wed. 'leeday, the 23d of June, till Monday, the 20th of September, wvhen It was brought home by fts fathier, to thieir extreme joy. Mrs. LUr- quhart confirmed the evidence of Airs. Rogers as far its the circumn. stances came within her knowledge, adding tL.sat site h-ad n"eve seat For the chilctt..that it had niever bean in her house farthver than-aie drop and thatalhe had not anyv knowledige of Rogers'8 family, nor any lauglhter of ani age to seek f6r such a companion as the childl Josephl RLogersi. Chiarlotte Shawi, site said, hiad bean in her service abont a fortnight, aLnd that she 'had 1heard a goad character of bar fronm a a6 person of the name of MVrs. Armsrrong, of Hunslet. This wit. ness dlescribedi Sliaw as extremeily sentinmenta, anti so niuch aWfectedI by tile death of' hier father who Itad been recently drowned, (whicb, by the way, was a mnere invention I, that shic wras always sighing, to the discomfort of the famiily. The avicience of Win. Rogers, who was first examiined, confirmedti thetestimony ofhlis wife, he described thec pursuit he had made after Shiaw fo-r the recovery of his boy, anid relatedt how the chuild lhad been found at Swans%ea,al seated above. The prisoner was nowv asikedl by the MAYORt if sihe had any oh- servatlons to make on the evidence that been given, or any question to Propose to the witnesgs? On whbich she mumrtbledl a reply that wvas scarcely intelligible, to the el'eict that Mirs. IRogers bath said when she took the child, that If his father asked for him shie wauld say lie had gone to Rleep at hill grandimothuer's. The MAAyo r..-What was youir snotive for conveyingg the child awaY from his pftrents?P To this inquiry the prisoner returned no auswver, but maintained a gullen sizilece.- C StnP answer to othier questions, she sadit that she was born in.-lramp. ishre, near Andov-er, and cameteen Leads to work at the pottery-.that her real name was Pcck,but thiat shielhad taken thename ofShtawv from some persons shie had lived with ; tiatshe had aupported herself andI thie chiild by charity during her atbsence, andi begged liar passage ini the vessels, The prisoner's demeanour was sullen and remorselescs, and her appearance is that of a soldier's trull-.sunburr.t, squialid, ragged,I and filthy ; her countenance,titowaever, is not witlhout interest, andt her manners do not appear to be those of A person in the lowest walk of life. This unfortunate girl, who does, not Appear to be miore thiuii 20 ear ofage isthenatraldauhte ofa wonman of the namie of Peek ofCarsaltn, nw dceasd; he s described by those whio knowhatas cleer hred woan f avagabondl turn, atnd liar presnt ituaionatlrds ne f a houandprolofisthat " Iknavecy is The examination of Shaw attr-acted a great deal oh'attention, and a vast number oaf parsonls ware collected rotund the Courr-lmouse, prin. cipumlly woolen, whose feelings are always the most lively on such _oc. casions. As only few could be admitted, little Rogers was placed itn the Court-ltouse window after the examination, and hiailed with exie. preasions of great delight by the suirrounding multittsdes. The fa- mily, on their wvay hiome, were so beset with comnpany, that theyl found it necessary to take refuge in tlle Griffin Inn, and their friends hatl themn conveyed to flunslet in a hsackney~coachm, the boy and his father Tiding uapon the barouche box, to the great gratification of the passing crowds. Since that time numbers of persons hiave. pressed to seethe Ilittle wanderer; and we hiave heard an intimation that something should be given to Rogers's family by the numerous viii. tars. B-at this idea, we think, ought to be discountenanced. The great inerit of' the coitduct of the parents has been their disinterested solicitude for the reco7ery of their child. In ever tg of the b-o. aimass they have kept a tingle eye to this object. TFhetowhlvn industry is fully equal to the supply of their wantat; and vwe ahoultl be extremne. ly sorry, to have themn paupezized by a mnisplacetl charity, when, they have recovered the object of all their anxiety. Our -view upon this* subject, which we know accords withi that of Mir. Nevins, is ,that Ro- gers's fanmlly should stand as nearly as possible in thesamesituation,as to their pecuzniary circumstances, as they would have stood had the child never been lost- This will lee iecured to them by the gentle- men wito have shown so m-uchi readiness to tAid their searchn. All ~he expense of the journeying will be paid the family will ba re. imbtursed for their time, and the deliniquenit relil be prosecatetd out ofti~rtrfns The reward advertised Wrill not,'we uncdarsteald, be caim theconduict of Alr. Reaten and l'rI. Bryant bas been huntane and honourable; and in the reflection that they have been in- strumnental in restoring a lost child, and with it, peace of mind to a worthy famifly, they will have the higheost and most appropriate reward. Charlotte Nusttall, of flolbeck, another witness, called on the fol- lOwig dy, aidtha Shw bd septat her house on the night al' tarshelet Ms. rquar'e ervoe whch wa Tuesday in thec race week.On te dayfollwing he pisoner 'wenst to Muanlet and broghthac Roer's hil, wichabtook to Mrs. Urquhsart's, and retrne wih i soe tme fte; i th aferoon she took the child away,sayin tha she as aout t takit acsa-- I.. T,.i., - - -..... .ua, a, wo wan2ea it; frOnt that time until sh tWaa apprehended teWit. ness never saw either Shaw or the c4ild. The examinations having been gone tbhouugh, the jaewsoner was: committedtsoYorktCastle, to take hertrial att tenextgasries. 211R KIDArA4PPIb CffILt) RESTOR-RD.