Police.
The Times, 1824-11-02T00:00:00

TVAw5,rTOX-5SOUsE.-A young man named Honeyman, who was' charged some day, ago upon suspicion of having been one of the gan&of'thleves who stole the parcel containing between 13,000. and l4," 01., the)property of the AMaidstoene Bank, was brought before the LoRD MAAyoR 'for a finial examination. This case forms an. other instance in addition to these recently presented to the public of the unsaertainty of' evidence as to personal identity. It will be re. codected that, on the first examination, the bookkeeper of the coachbI office swore"1 to the best of his bellef," that the prisoner was the person Who stood at the coacb-office door at the time the parcel was stolen ; that a second witness, a coachi-proprietor, whose attention was particalarly directed at the time to the person who was standline at thiecoach-orflce door, swore positively that the prisoner was the very iman , ;-, that a thirdl witneas, a chamtbermnaid of the inn where the 3uspecteci yobber slept and was seeni frequently, swore still more positively thazt the plrisoner was that perticu, whom slhe knew diot onily by his person, his features, and the colour of his hair, but by his voice and manner.. To corroborate this apparently powerful evidence, the prisoner was remanded, in order that a young woman 'who came to town by the side of the suspected person on the coach might be brought florward to give her evidence as to his idenetht'. To putt her power of deciding the questioni to the test, Mr. Browifi, the AMarshal, caused the prison'er to be plseed in a room amongst sieveral other persons. She was conducted to the room, and asked whether the man who rode by her side was present. At the first glance she fixed uipon the pri- soner, and said "cThat is the man ;- but upon a mere ciose e7ami- nation of the countenance, she said she was mistaken. The stiltnesi, Annle Spurger5 a servant girl residint at Braintree, then stated, that on the moorning the parcel was s;tolen, slie camre so London in the coach by whiec it was to be sent. The person wtho was charged in the rard rith thec robbery, artid who is now believed to be the thief, -at by her sidle during the whiole of the journey, and she frequently observed his fatce, daring the fourt hours they were fellow-travellers.' He spoke to her several times as they *~Proached Londlon. The prisoner was extremely, like himr, in figure, feature, and complexion ; but the other ;'erson was marked with the small-pox, in a manner not perceptible at a di-. tant glance. The prisoner, on the contrary, was completely free from any rmarks of the kind. This was the only difference, so far asi witness Was able to calculate, but it distinguished the priseoner effectually In her judg.ment. The LoaD MAYOi S aid, thlat this evidence would be decisive with himn in favour of the prisoner. The evidence of the othter witnesses could not for a moamcnt stand against that of the last witnes' who hadl Opportunities for such long and close examina- tion. 'it wyas clear that they had been mistaken, and that tile pri- saoner had the misfortune to resemnble closely somne other indivi- dual. He had derivedl thiis advantaesifrom the postponement o the intjuiry, for if the inquiry had closed with the first examia tion, the prisoner, thougli innocent, must haLve been sent to he Old Bailey upon the atrength, of the uncontradicted. evidence against him. Theprisoner's solicitor declared that he wasprepared with complete and irresistible evidence of an alibi. The risnerwasmuc af'Gced,andsaid it was a dreadful thing to e cargd o psitvel wth trmenou rober, ith which he hd nthig intheword todo.Peole, e sid,should be mere cutious befoe theyplace a poo fellw-creaure'slife in Jt o- The ose~ItIAOL-TiC wtneses wo spposed the prisoner to be a suspected person had opolken to th bsof their belicf, ansi were certainly mistaken. Thie accusation was a misfortune to which, innocent persons were often liable. AMr. Brown, the city maLrshal, stated, that he mutt say, in be- hatlf of the prisoner, that his strong resemnblance to another person, who was a had character, had, on a formner occasion, c-aused him, to he placed in a situation similar to that from which he had been just released. The LoRD MAvenL expressed his regret to the prisoner for the pain ana Inconvenience to whxich he had been subjected, and dis- charged him, J. Duval, a tall, thin, wildi-looking man, about 40 years of age. was placed at the bar, on a chiarge of having feloniously shot at his wife, with intent to kill her. The prisoner stood at the bar sul- lenly, andI spoke not a word durinfg the examiination of the Witnesses. George Hindesi, a watchman in the city-, stated. that about a quar- ter before nine o'clock on Saturday nighit, ars he was crossfing the street near the end of Bucklersbury,' be heard the screani of a fe- male, which Was Immediately followed by the report of a pistol. Witness tuxrnetd rotund thie corner, and saw the prisoner b=aing a female on the head with a pistol. The utifortunate woman receiv- ed severtal blows, and then she iatidte prisoner fell together. The latter go)u, and was; seizedl by thec witness, who asked him what he had slone. The reply was, thiat he was well satisfied with what he liad dlone, that the female wafs his wife, and had proved unfaith- ful to him. The wroman lay prostrate on the ground, and said she was a dead woman. The patrol came up at this time, and witness delivered the prisoner over to him. James Cecil, the pattrol, deposed, that he came up and re-ceived the prisoner into his custody. Wiitness saw the flash, andhbeard the report of the pistol. He teak the prisoner to the watcishouse to he searchied anid secured. In the man's pocket were found a tobacco. hex, containing some gnpowder, anda paper of swan-~shot. Up to this timie, it appear fthpat no one thoughit of the poor womian, w~ho lay weltering in Is er blood, surrounded hbra mob, wvho offered rio as- sistance. Ayoung gentlemais named Elliot, who had heard the pistol fired, then a ppreached, rais;~ up the poor womnan, andl caused her to be taken to thec shoi of the nearest surgeon The surgreoni was not at home and Air. Elliot went with her in a coach to St. Thomias's Hospira. Her bonnet was in pieces, and it appeared that her headl was severely contused. She was able to -speak; and she stated in the coach that her husband had shot at her, hut she did net say 'hat sh was wounded by hall or shot. The contusions on thie hea wcre the consequence of the blows given with the pistol. She adled, that he had often before threatened to shoot her, and she accused hin, of having long lived on the fruits of her prostitution, and of having used her cruelly when they were not sufficient to satisfy, him. Mr. rown th marhal staed tat he pisoer, hcnlie was in the omper,sai tht h ha pu sht i th pitol Heexpressed hishop tht h lid klle hi wie, ie eclredsolnily that she had rosttutdhereli'fro herown eprved ncliat ancln against his epetedremostrnee andenteates, and threats to prevent her MVr. Teague, of the Cempter, stated that the psrisoner had been re- cently held to hail 'for assaulting his wife, whbo was well knowon hit Chapide as a prostitute. She had been on the town for a consi- deabe timne, and had often been brought before the Mlagistrates. charged with disorderly conduct; It was stated that the prisoner I was some titme ago con~fined in a lunatic asylum. Thte LoRD IMAYOR. remanded the prisoner for further examina- tion, and directed that thie surgeon of the hiospital should mak-e a re- port of his patient's condition. BOW-Sr FLETxx.-Yesterday, ayoung gentlernan,whose appearance and demeanour stronglv bespoke the man of rank and fashion, was broughtlbeforeSirlxt,CARD Bimfmr, in thecustody of the night constable o1' Covent.garden, chiarged with breaking the windows, and committing other damage, In a brothel in Hart-street. The de. fendarit, upon ben asked his name, said it was Johnson ; but there was reason to belev that that was not his real name, thouhn other was publicly mentioned. The coinplainant was a fat, bloated-looking wvoman, about40wh said her name was, Clarke, anid that she was servant at the" hotl, No. 314, Hart-street, Covent-garden. On Saturday nightthde fendant came in with two women, and. had scarcely, got up stairs, whten witness heard the smasbingof glass and the breaking of Vene- tian blinds, and the defendant catme running down stair., the two women remaining abov!e. Witness upon this called the watch, and gave the defendant in charge for wilfuilly damaeing the property of thie house. WVhen the complainant had got seareeiy half througlh her state. ment, Sir R.BittsxE suggestedI whether it would notbe better for theI defetidant to retire and settle the matter without further investiga- tion.I The defendant, hiowever, said he was obliged to Sir Richard for the suggestion, hut he felt that the infamous treatment which he had experienced merited exposure and punishniciit, and he wished to be allowed to speak. He stated, thztnhewas staying3atthe Tav,istock-~ hotel,Covent-garLten, where he had been knownas an occasional rest- dentf?or severa years, and oni Saturday he had some f'riends to dine withi him, and consequently drank more than his ordinary, quantity of winie. He was standing at the door of the Tavistock, late in the evnig wen be was accostedl by two of those wretches who Infest th iza,and (be confessed it with shame) lie accompanied them to the os in question. Hle had scarcely entered, when they de- miiei _ :im of money, (30s.) in stick A manner ao convinced htm that he was in MMehne04Or, iusd that the sDOner he eWeetet hisiescape the better. He gave themn trie, ,!um demanded, and was oi'ngbut thiey, seeing that his purse was toler au'~, well flled, rushedto' 'the door, and bolting it, seized him 'byI the Cojil'a3, and with lhorrid imprecations swore that he should not leave the house alive unless he gave them more money. He endeavoured to force the door, but they preventedl him, and with the exertion of all his strength, ha at eangth contrived to reachi the window, which he threw tip antd called loudly for the watcha. A watchman anfswered, and was- told by the deiebndant oftlie peil hewas in, and desired to enler the houtse, but the reply of the watchman was, thaLt be would tak-e 'charge of the girls Or an,y body whlom the defendant might bring down into the street, but, that he was "1aucthorized not to ener ay hose" (e snstliely eant,", not authorized to entter," &c.)excet muder as cmmited.Defendant finally effected his escap fro theroom andran own6tairs, but was stoppedl at the botom y eiteconplanan, wo gve insin harg for breaking the windw, oe'. r tw paes o whih fel ou whn be lifted up the sash Liesea takn t theteaebbose:the girls were sufTesed to Te Ta, ons' tuble of the 'sight (a tradesma serving in his own right) ?aid that w itrn informed by the watchman that he could not enter the fiouseN i'a uch a case, the question (naturally as be th"ought) oc- currd t~ hdm sslby~ copitd. you not ?" And he received the an- swrwhacrtewtha hdpeiul ie to the defendaint. Sir R..Pxis i,thtawtha hd certainly no righlt te enter a b ~uetils tacl f udr"o except he was applied to by tli enro eehue The c; X,pl2l- nt,ii reply to tie defence of the gentlekuaian Olarvedi indulgej5 h insinuations whichn it iS impossible even to hint at; ba which ir t w is perfactl clear could not have the slightest found&tion, Sir B..~ 'stB rxI, addressing theS detfendant, told him lie was' dis. charges I: an d ob'serve,, that after the insinuatiOns wvhich the diabolical wreteb wIse o rebrred the complaint htd indulged In, he thought he owed it to himselt and to the pubdic to eapfv to Ae pas"tial ant- thorities, and Lake sulch stcps as would effertually put down the in- famoas houee. The defendant stid he should certalnly do so immediately. MARLBor01UGE1-3TrEr;T _A raspitblC.l0ooc:n man, e: the name of -udtowi, was charged with I4*ud by lIr. Harris, pz%m- broker, 432, Strand, as aLao by Mkr. Na4n, butcher, Chaniloastree. Mr. Harris stated, that the prisoner, ; sberttime bach, pawned at his shop 17 beds which he de.cribed .t: containing prime goose fee- thers, worth 2s. 4d. per pound; and be so contrived to mantage ti:e beds, that in the corner of cach, from whii3ch he drew a sample, wes contained goose feathers, as dc.cribed. lr. Harris, not su4ptctillg any trick, gave him 451. on the 17 beds; but on examination they turned out to contain coarse wool mohair, flocks, &e, of no 'ralue whatever, and they were not worth more tban the value of the ticken. This discovery wois made on Nr. Ntbancoming to release the beds, as it appeared that the prisoner had sold the dunlicates tp him for two gaineas. Alr. Harris said, he had been looking after this man for sone time belbre he took bim into custody, end that he wus known to be itt the practice of those tricks. Hudson denied the bei4 so be of the description of feathers stated by Air. Harris; he said he was foremnan to Air. Bisaex, 171, Hol- born, and that he had sold beds of t}re same qr ality. to Mr. Frank- lin, ot Oxford-street; and that no complaint was madce of them - part of tbe feathers, as they were called, wvme now produced, ana were mxte up of wool, flock. &c. - Sir GEoRon FAi RANT ceid, she best mode to decide the busi. ness weuld be to send for Air. Franklin. This gentleman in a few minutee attended, and said he did take some beds ftom theprisomer, but it was in lies of a debt due to him. as the Irisoner dealt with himn for ticken. The beds he was not aIble to sell for the price he was charged for tbem, but he got somefbing neartheir value. The prisoner saia he would take back t'e beds from 1ir. Harris and that he oflered him a good bill to discouri., which Mr. Iorrix refu%ed. " Y'es," suid Al r. Harris, " one not rorth a far'ifngg." Mr. Nathan said, that though the prisoner had, he caaceived, com- mitted a fraud on him as well as on Air. Harris, he wottiW forego any proceedings ff he would but return hirx his two guineas. Sir Grono:E FARnA.eT said, as regaTded Air. lqatban, that ther- was no fraud,as he purchased the duplicates without examiningwhiat they were; and with reipeot to Mlr. Harris, though there was evi- dentlvy a trick plaj'ed upon him, ye, that in po,int ef law hetdid not conceive that it amiounted to a. fraud; as fraud supposed thst n man h:d not the opportunity of 'detecting it; whereas inethis case Mr. Harris had the cpportunity of expintning the beds. Mr. Harris conceived it was a gross frauA, and hoped Sir Georga would hold the prisoner to bail. Sir GEoPoo declined to do so, but told him iie might go and in- dict him at the se5sionc.-4ilr. Harris tide he would. do so. POLICE.