The Miner. — 1863-04-18 (London, England)

THE FRAUDS ON LOAN SOCIETIES.—CharIes Ashwin, 55, corn-dealer, was indicted for unlawfully conspiring with two other persons to cheat and defraud the trustees of the London General Loan Society of the sum of £lO, and did cheat and defraud the said society of that sum. Mr. Lumley Smith appeared for the prosecution. This was a prosecution instituted .by a committee of loan. office keepers, in consequence of numerous frauds committed upon them by persons for some years past, and during the past few months only to the amount of between £3OO and £4OO. One of the gang was tried in this court on the 12th of March, and sentenced to three years' penal servitude, who was assisted by another man, named William Elsom, who went under the different aliases of Carter, Onslow, and Langton ; and who is still at large. The prisoner also was engaged in similar transactions, and although his realname was George Crowther, he went by the names of Ashwin, Holmes, Peak, and Masters. The prisoner Shaw, convicted last session, in applying for a loan at the Lisson-grove Loan Society, gave in the name of Charles Ashwin, of No. 4, Brecknock-terrace, as his security for a loan advanced to Shaw, on October 28, 1862, and the prisoner, on being waited upon, said he had been in the house for four years, and showed receipts for rent and rates for four years. It was in consequence of that statement that the money was lent to Shaw. The money was paid to Shaw in the prisoner's presence. The amount was £lO, the other security being Charles Onslow. It was proved that the prisoner only became the tenant of the house, No. 4, Brecknock-terraco, at Michaelmas, 1862, and the agreement was produced, which the prisoner had been seen to sign, and he left a few days before. Mr. A. F. Lewis addressed the jury for thd prisoner, but he was found guilty. The Deputy Assistant-Judge sentenced the prisoner to be kept in penal servitude for three years.  EXECUTION AT Irswrcir.—Yesterday morning the extreme penalty of the law was carried into execution at the Suffolk County Gaol, at Ipswich, in the case of John Ducker, convicted at the late assizes of the murder of Ebenezer Tye, a police constable, at Halesworth, on the 24th of November last. The constable it will be remembered, had been watching the prisoner, who was supposed to be guilty of stealing straw from a farmer with whom he was employed; but on the morning after the night in question he was missed from his beat, and on a search being made his, body was found in the river with numerous marks of violence on it. Various circumstances led to the certain conclusion that Ducker was the murderer. Since his conviction, about three weeks ago, Ducker's demeanour has been quiet, and he has listened with attention and respect to the ministrations of the Rev. J. Devil], the chaplain at the gaol. On Sunday afternoon he attended divine service in the chapel, when the rev, chaplain preached from the text, "The wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ, our Lord." The convict, however, seemed naturally to possess a stolid and unimpressionable character, as, nothwithstanding the awful position in which he was placed, with an ignominious death staring him hour by hour more imminently in the face, he took his meals with regularity and slept soundly. The time fixed for execution was 8 a.m., and as that hour approached, Calcraft, the executioner, proceeded to the discharge of his dreadful task. The struggles of the convict were not severe. There was a crowd of nearly 4,000 persons present, whose behaviour was quite orderly. It was understood no confession had been made.