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54 THE STAR OF FREEDOM. . September 4, 1...
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MARYLEBONE. Ti The Betting Shops.—Robber...
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SOUTHWARK. Cruelty to a Donkey.—Daniel D...
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GUILDHALL. Robbery in a Police Court.—He...
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software. The text has not been manually corrected and should not be relied on to be an accurate representation of the item.
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Transcript
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Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software. The text has not been manually corrected and should not be relied on to be an accurate representation of the item.
Additionally, when viewing full transcripts, extracted text may not be in the same order as the original document.
54 The Star Of Freedom. . September 4, 1...
54 THE STAR OF FREEDOM . . September 4 , 1852 .
Folia Cffint
folia Cffint
Marylebone. Ti The Betting Shops.—Robber...
MARYLEBONE . Ti The Betting Shops . —Robbery by a Butlek . —Thos . Scott , ntlatler to Matthew Foster , Esq ., M . P . lor Berwick-upon-Tweed , Jkoho resides at Bellevue House , Hampstead , was charged with savkving plundered his master of plate to the value of upwards of [ 5050 Z . —Prosecutor "being sworn said—The prisoner lias been my luthitler for nearly sixteen years , and had the care of the plate . lie le did not sleep in the house . On Friday night last , I missed ,, \ i valuable Highland dirk from my museum room , and on the wexext morning , in consequence of information which I had given
, 1 , t tt the police station , some officers called upon me , with the denew of properly investigating the affair . At five on Saturday , Ihehe prisoner , who had been absent since Friday night , returned , iindnd , on my asking him what he had done with the dirk , he said ne le knew nothing at all about it . A great deal of plate having alsilso been missed , he was questioned respecting it , and he deirioied all knowledge thereof ; but he afterwards admitted that he [ iaiiad made away with it , alleging that he was willing to make Espspod the loss , or using words to a similar effect . —Mr . Broughtfcoton ( to prisoner)—Have you any question to ask your master ?
Prisoner—No , sir ; what he has stated is quite correct—LiLockerby , 180 S , said—On Saturday evening , between six and seseven o ' clock , I and Inspector Byron went to Mr . Forster ' s , and tithe prisoner was told that we had come about the dirk , but that hihe need not answer any question unless ho should think propiper to do so . Mr . Forster mentioned to him that he had lost tithe dirk , to which the prisoner replied that he knew not where if it was , and that he had not been in the room where it was kept fcfor the last three weeks . Prisoner then left the apartment in T-whieh . this conversation took place , and on his returning in a flfew minutes Mr . Forster told him that in addition to the dirk a
1 : large quantity of plate was missing . Prisoner gave up the key c of the plate chest , which was in a room , at the top of the house , a and on my going up with him to the apartment , accompanied lby the inspector , the chest was unlocked , when I desired him t to take out the plate which was there . He did so ; and on the i articles being examined , I read over to him a list of the pro-] perty which had been abstracted . He declared that he knew i not where any of these things were with the exception of a rose-¦ water dish , a pine dish , some ladles , and a few other articles
emunerated by her , and which he told me were down stairs . ( The list alluded to was handed by Lockerby to the magistrate , and it appeared therefrom that amongst the costly plate stolen were 36 table forks and 24 table spoons , together with waiters , ladles , & c . ) I went below with the prisoner , who searched the pantry , and at length admitted that he could not find any of the things which he had told me he should there meet with and would readily give up . The rose-water dish has since been found in the house . After the search which had been made as
I have stated , I went into the dining-room with the prisoner , and Mr . Forster coming in at my request I told him that none of the articles upon the list had been met with , and he ( Mr . Forster ) then gave the prisoner into custod } 7- . In my presence the prisoner , after being duly cautioned , told his master that he nad made away with the plate , it was a bad job , and he was very sorry for what he had done . In his box in the pantry I
found 20 duplicates for plate , upon which he had raised 100 ? . 12 s . On the way to the station-house prisoner said to me , "I have been a good servant to Mr . Forster for 16 years , and this is the first dishonest thing I have committed . "—Prisoner here shed tears , and said— " Mr . Forster has been to me the best and kindest of masters . "—Lockerby further stated that in the possession of the prisoner he found several betting office tickets — The prisoner was remanded .
Southwark. Cruelty To A Donkey.—Daniel D...
SOUTHWARK . Cruelty to a Donkey . —Daniel Downs , a costermonger , was charged with cruelly working a donkey while in an unfit state . —Thomas Almond , an officer of the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals , stated that on Saturday morning ie was in the Bennondsey New-road , when he saw the prisoner driving a donkey cart , heavily laden with greens , & c ., which the animal could hardly drag along . He then perceived that something was the matter with the shoulders of the donkey , as the animal winced very much , and the flesh was a great deal
swollen . He stopped the donkey , and on biting the saddle he discovered an old sack , doubled four times , and under that a large raw wound about a foot long and two inches wide in the centre . It was almost in a state of putrefaction , and smelt most offensively . The donkey could hardly stand . He therefore took the prisoner into custody , and brought the donkey to the station for his worship ' s inspection . —Mr . Combe went to the yard and examined the donkey , and on his return remarked
that he never saw a poor animal in such a dreadful state , and he was surprised that any one could be so cruel as to work it . —Mr . Combe said that as he had heard a good character of him lie should give him an opportunity of curing the donkey , and adjourn the case for a fortnight . The officer of the Royal Society would call at defendant ' s stable as often as he could , and ascertain whether he attended to it , and if not bring him up for severe punishment .
LAMBETH . UffJUSTTFIABLH CONDUCT OP A POLICEMAN , —TJlOS . DowbridgB , a youth , was charged with assaulting police-constable William Rogers , 174 L . —Rogers , whose burly appearance formed a striking contrast to the shrimp-like person of the defendant , deposed that on Saturday night , between the hours of eleven and twelve o ' clock , while on duty in the London-road , he ordered some females who were speaking loudly at the door of a publichouse , to " move on , " upon which the-prisoner not only abused him but struck him four or five blows , the first of which knocked
off his hat , and he was compelled to take him into custody . — The prisoner , in reply to the charge , declared that the statement of the constable was wholly untrue , as would be shown by his witnesses . —Two young women , the one the sister and the other an acquaintance of the prisoner , were called , and deposed that they had accidently met at the door of the public-house , and being intimate acquaintances , they got into conversation , but not in a loud tone of voice , and they had not been there a moment when the constable came up and desired them to
" move on , " and told them that if they did not do so he should take them into custody . The prisoner , who was standing in the public-nouse , hearing what the constable had said , came to the door , and asked what they had done and why they should be taken to the station-house ? The constable ' s reply was , that if he did not take them he should him , and at the same time endeavoured to lay hold of him . The prisoner retired into the public-house and was followed by the constable , who , after tearing his shirt to ribbons and damaging his clothes , dragged Mm to the station-house . —The testimony of the yoimsr woman
Southwark. Cruelty To A Donkey.—Daniel D...
was fully corroborated by two other respectable witnesses , and all most positively swore that the prisoner neither struck or attempted to strike the constable . —Mr . Norton , after heaving tho whole of the witnesses , observed that it was perfectly clear that the conduct of the constable was highly improper , arbitrary , and most unjustifiable . In the first instance he had no right whatever to * order two decent young women , as the witnesses
appeared to be , to " move on" " as he had done , and his testimoney about the prisoner having struck him three or four times without his resenting it was not only highly improbable , but wholly contradicted . Such conduct was not to be tolerated , and he should at once discharge the prisoner , leaving hini to seek redress through the police commissioners for the injuries he sustained at the hands of the policeman .
BOW-STREET . Post Office Robbeky . —Theobald Philip Butler , a clerk in the General Post-office , was placed at the bar before Mr . Henry , charged with stealing five letters , containing gold and jewellery , the property of the Postmaster-General . Mr . Walter R . Sculthorpe , president of the London district department , stated that he accompanied Inspector Cole to the basement of the building shortly after two o ' clock on Monday afternoon , for the purpose of watching the prisoner , who had heen suspected , and followed to one of the water closets . They saw him through an
aperture , in the act of opening and destroying letters , and placing their contents in his pockets . Witness called to him , and said , ' What letters are you destroying ? " He looked up and said , " What , Mr . Sculthorp ? " Witness then asked him to let them inside , and he did so , upon which Cole then began searching him . The prisoner took two half-sovereigns and some silver from his waistcoat pocket .- Witness asked him where he got them from' ? He said that he had had them for some time . Cole took a small box containing a gold fancy ring from the prisoner . Witness said , " We have seen you open two letters ,
and this money came out of them . " The prisoner replied , * ' Yes , I took half a sovereign from each letter . " They took him up stairs , where witness said , " You had three letters on Saturday , one of them containing jewellery ? " He made no answer . Cole produced a coat that was usually worn by the prisoner in the office , and had been taken from the cloak room . He took three gold rings from one of the pockets . Witness said , " The letter contained six rings . " The prisoner said that he had bartered three of the rings for the one found in the little box and 9 s . A plumber who had received directions to examine
the closet came up stairs , and produced some fragments of letters which he had found there . These were pasted together , and five letters were made up from the pieces . They were directed as follows . '— " Mrs . Wood , 19 , George-street , Blackfriars-. road : Mrs . T . Lockyer , Uplime , near Lyme-Regis , Dorsetshire ; Mrs . Ramsden , 1 , Carnaby-street , Leeds : Mrs . Pink , 4 , Chandos-s ' creet , Landport , Portsmouth : and Mrs . T . Finger , Churchgate-street , Harlow , Essex . " All these letters would pass through the hands of the prisoner in his ordinary occupation , to be sorted . There was a postage-stamp on each , which had not been obliterated . The prisoner had been in the
Postoffice about 12 months . Mr . Henry . —At what salary ? Witness . —At a salary of 101 . per annum . Portions of a sixth letter were found , addressed to some person in High-street , Deptford : but only the final letters of the name ( gg ) could be traced . Mr . Henry remarked that it was a great pity , and really very extraordinary , that parties did not avail themselves of the postoffice order . The prisoner , on being asked for his defence to the charge , said , —I admit that I opened the letters , and took the jewellery and the money , for I have lost 4 , 000 ^ ., the cost of my father ' s commission in the army and my own . There was never any thing against my character before this . Mr . Henry committed him for trial .
Guildhall. Robbery In A Police Court.—He...
GUILDHALL . Robbery in a Police Court . —Henry Jones , alias Percy was charged before Alderman Farncomb with the following daring robbery :- On Monday last , immediately on the magistrate ' s leaving the bench , a gentleman in court complained that he had had his pocket picked of his handkerchief , when the police constable 411 , who was near him , inquired by whom , and having his attention directed to the prisoner , he turned him
suddenly round , and say the missing handkerchief hanging from his pocket , and accordingly accused him of the theft , and took him into custody on the above charge . The prisoner , when called on for his defence , said he had been in the fifth and sixth divisions of the city police force , which he had left about nine years . He acknowledged with contrition that he was guilty of the misappropriation of the prosecutor ' s property , but did not take it under the circumstances that had been stated .
He saw the handkerchief fall from the gentleman ' s hat , and being reduced to rags and extreme destitution , hunger and want tempted him to put the handkerchief into his own pocket instead of returning it to the owner . The prisoner , who cried bitterly during the time occupied in taking the evidence , was then fully committed to Newgate for trial .
WORSHIP STREET . Daring * Highway Robbery . —William Smith , a man of notorious character , ' was placed at the bar before Mr . Hammill , charged with being concerned with a number of other men who have escaped apprehension in the following daring highway robbery : —Mr . John Coutts , an engineer , in Graham-street , City-road , stated , '—I was returning home between twelve and one o ' clock on the night of the 16 th instant , when upon reaching the corner of Providence street , City-road , I noticed a gang clustered
of four or five men together . They regarded me in such a manner as to excite my apprehensions , and thinking if they robbed me at all they would endeavour to steal my watch which was worth five guineas , and attached to an Albert chain I instinctively placed my hand over it , and attempted to pass them . Before I could turn the corner , however , the whole of the fellows surrounded and pushed me about , and , although I still kept my hand firmly fixed on my waistcoat pocket , I felt my watch suddenly jerked out from ' beneath it , and broken away from its fastening . The prisoner was the nearest of the
gang to me , and I therefore seized him , and called out for the police , but he struggled with such determination that a violent contest ensued between us and his confederates , and it was only with the greatest difficulty , and with much ill-usage , that the officer , upon his arrival , could secure and lodge him in the station-house . The prisoner , who stoutly denied all knowledge of either the other men or the property , and declared that what lie had done had been in retaliation for the prosecutor ' s unjustly seizing hold of him , protested his innocence , and seemingly wished to make it appear that he was thoroughly honest but a constable named Jones at once stepped forward and having identified him as having being in hiscustody in July 1850 for felony , deposed to being present at the Central Criminal
Guildhall. Robbery In A Police Court.—He...
Court and seeing the prisoner tried for a similar offence , whei he was convicted , and sentenced to a lengthened term ' of i m prisonment . The prisoner upon this became silent , and the depositions of the witnesses having been taken , he was ftillv committed to Newgate for trial . J Alleged Starvation of a Wife . —Richard Cooper , a journeyman blacksmith , was charged at the instance of the jtAvkh authorities of St . Luke ' s , with having caused the death of his wife , Elizabeth Cooper , by depriving her of sufficient food , anil other acts of ill-treatment . Mr . Albrey , clerk to the vestr " clerk of St . Luke ' s , reminded the magistrate that the defending
was brought up last week upon a warrant charging him with having cruelly neglected and ill-treated his wife , who had beeii admitted into the workhouse with one of her children , but in the absence of evidence on that occasion , the case was ordered to stand over for further investigation . The poor woman had since-then remained in the workhouse infirmary in a state of extreme debility and prostration , uadcr which she gradually sank , and died on the preceding evening . He was now in a condition to prove that her death was mainly occasioned hv
the harsh and unfeeling conduct of the prisoner , who had keui her without food for days together ; and after hearing evidence to that effect , he trusted that the magistrate would order him to put in bail to await the result of the coroner ' s inquest . Mv . Hammill said , after the evidence he had heard , he had no hesitation in remanding the prisoner , and should require him to find substantial bail for his appearance on that day week . The prisoner was not able to produce the required sureties , and was carried off in the van .
Assault and Robbery by a Prize-fighter . — Jeremiah M'Grath , a well-known athletic prize-fighter , was placed at the bar before Mr . Hammill upon two distinct charges of aggravated assault and robbery . About a month ago , or perhaps rather more , Mr . Wolf Pleisner , a German jeweller , was proceeding home through Commercial-street , Whitechapol , at a late hour at night , when he was accosted by a woman of notorious character , named Elizabeth Williams , who inveigled him into a house , up a court in Keate-street , Spitalfields , There he became so frightened at the aspect of the place that he offered the
woman money to let him go , but she locked the door , and demanded still more of him . He tried to get out of the room , but she thrust him . back , opened the door ajar , and called out loudly as a signal , upon which two powerful fellows rushed in and instantly felled him to the ground , where they held him while the woman rifled his pockets , from which she took his purse con taming two sovereigns and some silver . Mr . Pleiser resisted this robbery as well as he could , and shouted loudly " Police , " and " Murder , " but the most powerful of his assailants grasped him by the mouth to stop his cries , and , having dragged him
by main force along a dark passage , flung him headlong into a cellar at the rear of the house , about seven or eight feet in depth . There he lay stunned , bleeding , and helpless , for a considerable time , but upon recovering his senses groped about the cellar until he found a ladder , or rather a portion of one , up which he scrambled , and got back into the room where he had been first _ maltreated . The room was in entire darkness , and , not knowing how to find the way out , he indiscreetly again commenced shouting for the police , but the instant he had given this intimation of his escape from the cellarthe whole
, of his assailants returned , and after beating him about the fact and body with great severity , flung him out into the street . The woman was afterwards apprehended , and now stands committed for trial , but both her male confederates successfully evaded the police until the night of the 21 st instant , when the prisoner M'Grath , with a gang of other fellows , set upon a printer named Smith , of Kingsland , whom he plundered of his watch , and struck so violently in the face as to partially stun him . The prisoner was placed in a cell with six or seven other
men , to give him a fair chance of escaping detection ; but the moment Mr . Pleisner caught sight of him he unhesitatinifly selected him from the rest , and was so positive in his identification of him that he could , as he stated , have picked him out from 500 . The prisoner stoutly protested his innocence of all Implication in the first mentioned assault and robbery , but expressed his intention to reserve his defence upon the second , and the depositions of the witnesses having been taken by Mr . Hurlstone , the second clerk , he was fully committed to Newsatc for trial upon both charges .
CLERKENWELL . Murderous Assault . —John Wright , aged 40 , was finally examined before Mr . Corrie , charged by Mary Ann Wright , his wife , a respectable well-looking young woman , with having stabbed her with intent to murder her . —The evidence of tho wife , which was given with great pain , showed that on the night of the 16 th ult ., the prisoner rose from his bed , procarcd a knife and stabbed her in the neck , side , and arms . —Prisoner said , I was excited and agitated at the time . I was worked up to a pitch of frenzy , and am sorry that I have injured my Avife . —Prosecutrix ( crying)—You have repeatedly sworn that you would murder me . 1 have eleven stabs on my person -Committed .
THAMES . A Disinterested " Patriot , " a Ruffiahly Loyalist , act » a Just (?) Magistrate . —Peter Sheffield , a man about fifty f years of age , was charged with abusing Mr . G . A . Richards , a tradesman , of Salmon ' s-lane , Limehouse . —The comp lainant t said that he had posted in the window of his shop a bill referring ? to the Militia Act , displaying its discipline clauses and their r operation , with a view to dissuade persons from enlisting' in n the new corps . The defendant came there about twelve o ' clock k and appeared very much offended with the contents of the bill . 1 ,
and made an attempt to tear it down , and said the act was the ic law of the land , that a militia was necessary , and that tho bill ill ought not to be in the window . He advised the defendant to to go away , and said he had a right to have the bill stuck up i » i » Ins window . The defendant then began swearing at him <''"( l ' 1 ( l threatening him , and , a mob having collected , he was obliged to to give him into custody . Mr . Yardley—What induced you to to put the bill in your window ? Prosecutor—1 do not know par- «''
tieularl y ; to draw attention to my shop . Mr . Yardlcv-A verj : rv ridiculous proceeding—most absurd indeed ; and 1 must say ty ty was a most impertinent proceeding on yoiu- part to put bills ot ot that kind in your window . Why should you put bills in yctf oitf window , advising people not to enlist in the militia , when tw W act has been sanctioned by the legislature and the govern ^" cut of the country ? The proceeding is a most objection ^! ? ,, ° ; , 1 , c ; , the Prosecutor—He sai ( 1 « lf you don > t tilke jl ; 0 utoi yoiuoiu window , I will doit ; " and he called me a thief andawg » g » before all my neighbours . The prisoner , in a somewhat ram" iw lmg mannersaid he did not like to the bill which **;***' kvixa \ j lhj mi
, seo , u , , v . xx nm . nuu iuvvj iaj ouu > " , 4 it 4 in headed , " Flogging in the New Militia , " and on the head on * , was an engravin g of a man being flogged at the halberds * £ ' ™ a oat-6 ' -nine-tails , the blood streaming down his back , ana n >
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Citation
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Northern Star (1837-1852), Sept. 4, 1852, page 6, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/ns/issues/ns2_04091852/page/6/
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