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-, THE LEADER: [No/856, Saturday,.«^» ¦ ...
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OUR CIVILIZATION..... —»¦ THE GREAT BULL...
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A Man Probably Inhocent Condemned io Dea...
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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.
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-, The Leader: [No/856, Saturday,.«^» ¦ ...
-, THE LEADER : [ No / 856 , Saturday , . «^» ¦ . ; ; : . - —— - ¦ ¦ . ¦ - - — . ^ zrz
Our Civilization..... —»¦ The Great Bull...
OUR CIVILIZATION . .... —»¦ THE GREAT BULLION ROBBERY . The special session of the Central Criminal Court , appointed for the trial of some of the remarkable commercial cases which , have recently agitated society , commenced on Tuesday -with the indictment of William Pierce , described in the calendar as a grocer , imperfectly educated , aged forty ; James Burgess , aged thirty-five , railway guard , well educated j and William George Tester , aged , twenty-six , clerk , also well educated , who were charged-with the great gold robbery on . the
South-Eastern Railway . Tester , who -wore a moustacho and whiskers , appeared very much depressed ; but Burgess and Pierce exhibited considerable unconcern—the former , apparently , fc-om a natmal gaiety , the latterfirom suUennesa . Serjeant Shee attended specially , with Mr . Bodkin , and Mr . Monk , of the Northern Circuit , to conduct the prosecution ; Mr . Serjeant JBallantine attended specially , with Mr . Sleigh , to defend Tester ; JSJs . Serjeant Parry , also specially retained , with Mr . Rihton , appeared fcrPierce ; and Mr . Giffard ,. Mr . Poland , and Mr . F . H . Lewis defended Burgess .
Our readers are already so familiar -with , the facts of this extraordinary case , that we shall not repeat the evidence , but confine ourselves to the defence and the final result In cross-examination , by Mr . Serjeant ~ B 8 atrjr Agar r the approver , said : " I -was once in the service . of a linendraper for four years . That is fourteen years ago . It may be twenty years ago . I cannot speak positively . There- was no robbery committed in the establishment YFhile I was there . I was never in any other service . I got my living by ' speculating' in America . I speculated in various things . I went to America several times . I decline to answer h" 6 w I got my liviag before I ' speculated' in America . I never ¦ was . engaged in forgeries . I knew Saward at this time . I decline to say how I got my living . " Baron Martin told the witness he had better answer . He conld next be
¦ worse off than he was , unless lie had done something for which he might be hanged . ( A laugh . ) Agar said , he should still decline to answer . SerjeantPai-ry : " Have you done anything for which you might be hanged ? " Wituess : " I decline to answer . " He denied that he committed forgeries while in America , or toat he had passed forged cheques anywhere . Of the cause of his present conviction he gave this account :, —" While I / was . at Kilbum , I was . living -with a woman named Emily CampbelL She had lived formerly trath Humphreys , and it was out of revenge that ha got me arrested . I had-teut him 23 Q ? ., and was going-that afternoon by
appointment to receive it back . He lived a door or two from the corner of Bedford-row , and just as I got to the corner I met a man who said to me , ' Bill has seat me to tell yon not to come in . There ' s a screw loose . ' He palled out a bag at the same time , which he said contained 20 QA , Just then I saw somebody coming behind us , and the man ( who called himself Smith ) said , You'd better run ; ' 1 did so , and ha inamecUately called ' Stop thief ! ' I stopped , and the police-officers took me into custody . I gave up the hag , which was found ta ba full of farthings ; but Smith pretended to know nothing of it .. That is all I had to < k > with the charge on which I was convicted . "
After several witnesses had been examined , th . « j Court adjourned till the next morning , the jury being conducted to the London Coffee-house , under charge of the officers of the court . The concluding evidence was received on Wednesday , when it was shown , in cross-examination , that l'ierce was not in the servieo of the- railway convpany at tlia time of the robberies—a fact which in some , degreo modified the charge against him . Thursday was entirely occupied with , the speeches of the counsel for the defence , the 6 umQaing > -up > of the judge ,, the verdict of the jury & c TJi « defence in each cose rested mainly on the admitted bad . character of Agar , combined with tlie avowed desire for revenge which had influenced bina in bringing fotward the charges against his former comrades . The ccmrael also comiandwt that Agar ' s assertions we * e not suffidwntljr corroborated by the other-witnesses to justify the jnry in coavioting tho prisoners * .
Baron Martin * in stumming up said that Pierce , if found guiltyj could only bo convictedo £ a simple larcenyv as ha -was not i » the service of the company at tha tima the robb * rywas committed ; hut th * othe * cases were different ^ and would tend er tha praonars liahto . to more eavejre punishmumt . It , waa lamentable , to reflect upon tha frauds which had taken plaea eioce these groat companiea had been formal Formerly , a groat deal waa heard of the attachment of clerks and servants to their emplograra ; bat in the great companies all this ha * lbaea > don * away irilth ; , and pubKe associations appeared to he > legitimate object * of spoliation . —After commenting on th * « riid « nca , and pointing out tho d » grae of connraaatioa it received foam the testimony of thft other wtttteeaea , tha Judge dismissed the . jury to the considomtion of th * ir * ordkt . They only , remained absent , however , for tea mrautos , when they returned with . a verdict , of GUILTY againat all tb » accused . Baron Martin , in pawing sentence , emid " the jury had found their verdict on the clearest evidence , wet laid he > -
fore a . court of j . ustice . The principal witness in the case was . Agaor , a man who was as bad as- he could-well be but yet V person who was not the original planner of the robbery , the suggestion having come from Pierce . Something had been said of the romance connected with that roan ' s character ; but if there were any persons who took an interest in it , or who fancied that there was anything great in his character , he would beg them to consider what had been the result . He was a man of very extraordinary talent . No doubt be had given to the details of this robbery a- vast deal of care . If he had exercised a tenth part of the ability on . any honesfc pursuit , he would have been by thfe time a respectable man , and ho doubt would have realized a large property . Instead of being a man of respectability , he was now a slave for li . ffe . He was separated from everything that was dear to him—even from the other sex , to which he was evidently attached and was the veriest slave that ever trod the faee of the earth , having no control whatever over his actions . Some remarks had been made by the counsel engaged for the defence about his release . He- ( the judge ) did not like to mention the subject during the progress of the trial , but this he might say , that if he was released it would not be oa account of any evidence that he had given upon the present trial . " He warmly reprobated the atrocity of Pierce in deserting Fanny Kay . " In all , " said his Lordship , addressing Pierce , " yoii must have got out of Agar about 15 , 000 / . This you stole and appropriated to your otvii use . It is a worse offence , I declare , than the act of which you have jast been fonnd guilty . I would rather have been concerned in stealing the gold than in the robbery of that wretched woman - — call her liarlot , if you will—and her child . A greater villain than you are , I believe , does not exist . " ( Loud cheers in c & wt . * ) He should inflict upon Pierce the most severe sentence which the law allowed him to pass , namely , two years' hard labour—with , during that time , three months , the 1 st , 12 th ,. and 24 th , solitary confinement . He regretted that he could not pass a more severe sentence upon him , who was far worse than either of the others . "With regard to Burgess and Tester , he must pass upon each of them a sentence of transportation for fourteen years . T 3 ie three prisoners , who seemed to struggle with violent emotions during the delivery of the sentence , . were then removed from the dock . In answer to an application by Mr . Bodkin , who requested that the Court would make an order for the property found in possession of the prisoners to be handed over to the South-Eastern Railway Company , Baron Martin said at present he should make no such order ; and , with regard to the Turkish Bond taken from Pierce , it appeared to him that , if any one was entitled to it , it was Fanny Kay .
A Man Probably Inhocent Condemned Io Dea...
A Man Probably Inhocent Condemned io Death . —Two Irishmen , named Loughnan and Kelly ,, are now under sentence of death in Guernsey gaol for the murder of a couple of Frenchmen in that island . The double execution is appointed to take place in a very few days ; but there seems good reason to believe that one of the condemned men ( Loughnan ) ia innocent of the crime of -winch , together with bis companion ,, he has been convicted . The two prisoners were tried last
December before the highest tribunal in Guernsey , on a charge of having murdered two Frenchmen who died from wounds inflicted by a knife or dagger . They were each tried separately , and both found guilty , although , in . the case of Laughnan , several of the jury did not consider that the crime with , which ha was charged had been satisfactorily proved against him . From circumstances which transpired , both , before and after the trial , many other people came to . the conclusion that Loughnan was not guilty of the murd « r , even if he had at all been
connected with the other prisoner , of which tho * e were considerable doubts ; and several of the most respectable inhabitants of the island , supported by the press , were energetic in their endeavours to sift the matter to the Utmost . It waa not long befoio they discovered the fact that Kelly , shortly after his apprehension , had sent for a Roman Catholic priest , and confessed to him that Loughnan was entirely innocent , and that lie alone waa guilty of U * e crime for which they were both imprisoned . This confession he earnestly recreated the priest to inaka known , in order that the other jnan ' a Ufa might be saved .. It was accordingly forwarded to the proper au ~ thoritiea ; amd Kelly waa afterwards visited by persona in office
high ,, to whom he- repeated what lie had already told . the . ptiest . His atatemeut about Louglinan ' a innocence appoara to bo borne out by the medical testimony produced on the trial , which -went to show that the ¦ wounds , oq both the Frenchmen wore inflicted with tho same instrument , and apparently by the same haodL Owing to Kelly ' a cojofession , strenuoua exertions ara being noada by many of tho inhabitants of Guernsey to induce Sir Geaige Gr « y to dofor the execution until tho truth or falsity of what Kelly has asserted , can bo aacer-Slf i < * i . ! !* ****** *> y » large n « i » bo » of tho people ^ the island , will , therefore , ba forwarded to the Home Secretary with tub * view i « £ "fff . T a 1 9 «« rB ^ SQfoIi ( Y .--A youth ofi nineteen , fiswo . the , Islington workhouse , but < wlxa formerly
carried on business as a butcher , was charged by a fellow pauper , at the CRrkenwell police-office , with having committed a murder . On Christmas day some of the men in the workhouse were seated round the fire telling tales to each other , for their amusement . The narratives consisted of various stories of ghosts and murders ; and the moment one of the paupers began to relate a tale on the latter theme , Booth ( the young man in question ) seemed very restless and uncomfortable and , after loadly groaning several times , Itft the room . On his return , one of the men was telling a comic storv , and , although it caused a great deal of laughter , Booth seemed duller than usual , and , when asked what was the matter , said he had committed *' a most horrible and
atrocious crinve , " which very much , troubled him ; that he could get no rest night or ttaj *; and that , wherever he went , and whatever be was about , the thought of the deed he had committed ^ vas always uppermost in his mind . Being advised by the others to- make a full confession of his crime , he said , after some hesitation , that about two years ago he was walkmg ; on the banks of the Regent ' s Canal on a dark , foggy afternoon , and , being short of money , and having promised to go out with some friends , he resolved to rob the first person he met . He shortly afterwards saw an elderly man , whose mon « y he demanded , artd threatened him -with death in the event of , a refusal . A straggle ensued between them , they fell to the gronnd together , but he , being
yoang-, was quickly on his reet , and took out a butcher ' s knife ( which he produced from his poeke ^ and drew thenattention to marks of bleod still upon it ) and plunged it deep into bis victim ' s body . Having despatched his victim , he rifled his pockets , taking from them a gold watch and chain , together with a quantity of "bank-notes and loose gold coin . He- then threw the body into the canal . Although- he felt his conscience reprove him very soon after committing the deed , he joined his friends , with -whom he got drunk , and was them robbed of all the money which he-bad taten from the murdered man . The thought of this made him ill , and he was
therefore compelled to give up Ms business and go to tie workhouse .- —Information of what Booth had related to his fellow paupers having been given to the police , they searched their books , and found that about the time the murder was stated to have been committed , and near the spot indicated , the body of an old man was taken out of the canal ; but it was proved he never possessed much money , and there were no marks of violence on the body . Wl * en before the magistrate , Booth stated that he was quite innocent of the crime , and that he had merely told the story for the entertainment of his companions . Mr . Tyrwhitt believed thisy and discharged him .
BuncLAmr . —A man named Thomas Johnson was charged before Mr . Henry , at the Bow-s-treet policecourt , with breaking into a house in Alfred-place , Bedford-square . Mr . Sidgreaves , a law student of the Temple , who occupied the ground floor , was awakened at five o ' clock in the morning by a noise in the front parlour . He immediately got up , and armirtg himself with a life-preserver , which he always carried into his b « droom on retiring to rest , he rushed into the adjoining apartment , where he saw Johnson . Mr . Sidgreaves at once seized him ; but he did not make any resistance , and the landlord was called up , a policeman was sent for , and tho thief was given into custody . Johnson then
stated that two men outside had asked him to get into the house , and promis-ed to follow if the coast was cleaT . The landlord , hearing this , ran out intotlie street and perceived a man lurking near tho premises , whom lie laid hold of , but , on learning that he was tho son of a person named Smith an Tofctenham-court-road , known to the landlord , the latter suffered him to depart . It afterwards came out in evidence before the magistrate , that not only were the parlour shutters unclosed , but the -window of that room was not bolted . Mr . Henry said that , though it was a wise precaution in these times for a man to take defensive weapons to bed with him , yet it ¦ would surely be much wiser in the first instanco to fasten thn ¦ wimlnw i > nrl r > 1 n « A fKo ilinHmu iifon ^ ali .. : - a fasten tho window and close the shuttersespeciallin
, y a room easil y accessible to thieves from -without . He committed the acensod for trial . A Fihst Ofkence . —Tho culpable harslmess of prosecutors in not condoning a first offence—a subject to which a correspondent of this journal recently made allusionwas illustrated in a ease which was brought forward ot Guildhall on Monday , when John Tyler , a potboy at a public-house ia Warwick-lane , was charged witli stealing a parse containing U . 10 s ., tho property ef Mr . Smith , hia employer . Mr . Smith had lost tho purse through a hole in his pocket , and it yrae afterwaixls found in tho possession of the boy , who said ho would have returned it had . he known it to be Mr . Smith ' s . Tliat ho was really ignorant of the ownership appears to bo doubtful ; but Mi . Smith said ho sincerely believed this wns the boy H first offence , and be would thorefora refrain from
pressing the charge- So far , so good ; bufwhon Alderniaai Garden asked the- publican if he would tako the boy back into hia employ , he replied that he had lost aM coniidonco in th « accused , and could not roceivo him agaia . Sir K . W . Cardeu aaitl thia -was not a common case of stealing . Th « circumstance of the prisoner finding tho puiae waa a auddeu temptation which ho had yioldcd to , -whan in all other reapocta he inighxhaye aetod honoatly .
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Citation
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Leader (1850-1860), Jan. 17, 1857, page 6, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse2.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/cld_17011857/page/6/
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