The Chronicles of Crime or The New Newgate Calendar. v. 2/2 / being a series of memoirs and anecdotes of notorious characters who have outraged the laws of Great Britain from the earliest period to 1841

DENNIS COLLINS.

CONVICTED OF HIGH TREASON, IN THROWING A STONE AT KING WILLIAM IV.

The prisoner was found to be old and decrepit, with a wooden leg, and wearing the tattered garb of a sailor. He gave his name Dennis Collins, and surveyed the assembled throng with a calm composure, while, however, there appeared to be considerable incoherence in the expressions which he occasionally let fall, produced apparently indeed by the confusion in which he was involved, consequential upon the somewhat rough treatment which he had received from the mob before he had reached the custody of the police-officers. The circumstances which have been already detailed were now proved in evidence; and witnesses were examined who had seen the prisoner on the race-course during the morning, and had remarked his demeanour. He appeared to be occupied in begging, but an angry resentment seemed to be exciting his mind. This had evidently reached its height at the moment of his attack upon his majesty; but his premeditation appeared to be exhibited beyond a doubt by his possession of the missiles which he threw, which must have been brought from a somewhat distant part of the ground.

The miserable old man was considerably below the middle height, and the general aspect which he presented was the reverse of pleasing, on account of the want of cleanliness of his person. His countenance was by no means ill-favoured, and a bright sparkling eye appeared to lend to it an expression of considerable intelligence. He made no statement before the magistrates, and was eventually committed to Reading jail for re-examination on the following Wednesday.

On that day the necessary witnesses to his crime were called, and their depositions formally taken, and the prisoner was then called upon for his defence. His address to the magistrates was highly characteristic of the old sailor, a station to which it appears the prisoner was entitled. He said, “I own myself in a great fault for throwing these stones at his Majesty. I was in Greenwich Hospital on the 16th of December last, as an in-pensioner. I had been there eighteen months. The ward-keeper was sweeping the place, and I told him he had no business to sweep it more than once a-day; the boatswain’s mate abused me, and I returned it. A complaint was then made to Sir Richard Keats (the governor), and I was expelled for life. I petitioned to the Lords of the Admiralty to have the pension which I had before I went into the hospital restored to me. I am entitled to that pension by an act passed in the reign of George IV., which entitles a pensioner to have the same pension which he had before he became an in-pensioner, unless he struck an officer, or committed felony, or did anything of the kind, which I did no such thing; on the 19th of last April I petitioned the king to have my pension restored. He answered by sending the petition to the Lords of the Admiralty, and Mr. Barrow, the secretary, sent a letter to me at the public-house, the Admiral Duncan, with the same answer the king gave. The answer was, that ‘His Majesty could do nothing for me.’ This was part in writing, and part in print. I had neither workhouse nor overseer to apply to, and had not broke my fast for three days; merely distress drove me to it. His majesty never did me an injury, and I am exceedingly sorry I threw a stone or anything else at his majesty. On the 17th of the present month I went to Admiral Rowley’s; he swore at me and kicked me. I can only say I am very sorry for what I have done, and must suffer the law. They had no right to take my pension from me, to which I was entitled by Act of Parliament.”

This was all the wretched man said, and he was then fully committed for trial in the customary form, upon the charge of high treason.

His trial took place at Abingdon on Wednesday the 22d August, when he was arraigned upon an indictment, charging him with assaulting his majesty, with intent to kill and murder him,—with intent to maim and disable him,—and with intent to do him some grievous bodily harm.

The prisoner pleaded not guilty, and the case was immediately commenced. The evidence was conclusive as to the facts which we have stated, and a verdict of “Guilty” upon the last count was returned.

The sentence awarded by the law to the offence of high treason was immediately passed, the prisoner being ordered to be drawn and quartered, in obedience to the ancient and long existing practice.

It was directly known that a sentence so severe would not be carried into full effect upon a man whose only crime appeared to have been insanity, although there was no distinct evidence by which this supposition could be proved; and on the following Friday, a respite was received at Abingdon jail, by which the punishment of death was removed in the case of the wretched old convict.

Collins, at the time of his trial, was upwards of seventy years of age, and, as his defence before the magistrates imported, he had served in the navy for many years. His gallant conduct in an action was the cause of his losing his leg, and he was compelled to quit the service. He subsequently exerted himself to procure his admission to Greenwich Hospital, and eventually he succeeded; but he was expelled for the misconduct which he pointed out. From this time he appears to have supported himself by begging, and he was well known at the various fairs and race-courses, which, however, he had previously been in the habit of frequenting in a similar character.

His sentence was eventually commuted to transportation for life, and he was sent from this country to Van Dieman’s Land. A short residence in that colony ended his days. He died at Port Philip in the spring of the year 1834.

WILLIAM KENNEDY AND WILLIAM BROWN.

TRIED FOR A MURDER COMMITTED ON THE RIVER THAMES.

It appears, that Mr. William Wilkinson was the managing clerk to Messrs. Williams, Jacob, and Co., merchants, of Hare-court, Aldersgate-street, and at the time of his death had reached his twenty-fifth year. He was fond of the sports of the river, and frequently enjoyed the exercise of rowing, either alone or in company with a friend. On the evening of Tuesday the 17th of July, accompanied by a Mr. Smales, a stationer, of No. 36, Aldersgate-street, he proceeded to the yard of Mr. Hodges, near Blackfriars-bridge, and there hired a boat for the purpose of proceeding up the river. They had reached Vauxhall-bridge, when through the falling shades of night they saw two boats advancing upon them, and as they supposed dogging or following them. They did not immediately take any notice of the circumstance, but pulling on through the bridge they reached a spot near to the lock or opening of the Grosvenor Canal. They found that the boats were still in their vicinity, and were drawing nearer to them: and Mr. Wilkinson remarked, that he did not like their appearance. At this moment Mr. Smales drew his watch from his pocket to see what time it was, and he found that it was ten o’clock. Mr. Wilkinson suggested that they could pull on for ten minutes longer, and then return with the tide and take a glass of ale at the Spread Eagle tavern, a much frequented waterside house. While this conversation was going on, one of the boats which had been chasing them passed, and they had just taken their sculls in their hands to resume their progress, and had pulled a few strokes, when they found that they had come in contact with the boat. Mr. Wilkinson exclaimed, “We are foul of a boat here, let us shove her off,” and proceeded to clear the funny in which he was from the other boat; but he found that his efforts were unavailing, and that, notwithstanding his exertions, the boat came alongside. There were two persons in it, and one of them, whose appearance was remarkable from his wearing a blue and white night-cap, made a snatch at the coats of Mr. Wilkinson and Mr. Smales, which were lying at the feet of the former in the funny. He was successful in reaching them and drawing them into his own boat, which was a light skiff, and he and his companion then directly shoved off and rowed away with all speed. Mr. Smales raised his scull and endeavoured to strike the leading offender in this impudent robbery; and at the same moment, Mr. Wilkinson sprung from his own boat and seized the gunwale of the receding skiff. The second boat at this moment was observed to be rowed away with great speed, and Mr. Smales’ attention was directed to his friend, who, holding the antagonist boat, was immersed in the river. He saw that his hands were pushed away from their hold by the same man who had before been active in the robbery, and then the same man and his companion struck him repeatedly and violently over the head and hands with their sculls. Mr. Smales cried “Murder,” at perceiving the imminent danger in which his friend was placed, and exerted himself to save him by throwing to him two of the sculls in his boat. His efforts were, however, futile, and he saw Mr. Wilkinson sink, apparently overpowered by the blows which he had received. The boat in which their assailants were now rowed away as quickly as possible, and the waiter and jack-in-the-water at the Spread Eagle, alarmed by the outcry, put off to the assistance of Mr. Smales. He acquainted them with what had passed, and urged them to endeavour to save his friend, but they were unable to render any effectual aid, and were compelled to give up their search after a useless attempt to recover the body of Mr. Wilkinson. Fresh assistance from the shore was procured, and drags were employed, but to no purpose.

Mr. Smales, on his proceeding on shore, at once gave information of what had occurred to two friends whom he accidentally met at the Spread Eagle, and accompanied by them he secured the co-operation of Mitchell, a surveyor of the Thames Police, in endeavouring to secure the originators of the attack upon him and his friend, and the death of the latter.

In the course of the ensuing morning, the skiff which had been used by their assailants was found at Nine Elms, Vauxhall (on the opposite shore to that on which the Spread Eagle is situated), and it was discovered to belong to Mr. Moore, a boat-owner, from whose yard it had been clandestinely taken on the previous night by two men named Kennedy and Brown. Mitchell was perfectly acquainted with the persons and the character of these individuals, and he hesitated not to believe that they were the men who had been guilty of this outrage. Proceeding in search of them he soon succeeded in apprehending them, together with three of their companions, named Kitley, Lyon, and Flack, who, like them, were of notoriously bad character, and were well known as river thieves. Evidence was not long wanting to connect Kennedy and Brown with the transaction. Independently of the knowledge of their having possessed themselves of Mr. Moore’s boat, on the Tuesday evening, at about the time when Mr. Smales and Mr. Wilkinson must have been passing the yard where it was lying, and where, a moment before, they had been in conversation with an apprentice of Mr. Moore, named Shearing; it was ascertained that they had been seen walking together from Nine Elms towards Lambeth Butts, at about half past ten o’clock, on the night in question, and that on their arrival at a beer-shop, which they frequented there, their demeanour was confused, and entirely different from its usual character. On the following morning they were seen at the same house, in company with the other prisoners, Flack and Kitley, and they all appeared to be intently occupied in the destruction of some letters or papers, which had been produced by Kennedy. They had remained thus employed some time, when all but Kennedy went away. Isbester, a Thames Police officer, shortly afterwards made his appearance in search of them, but Kennedy seemed to be instinctively aware of his approach, and speedily vanished. Bean, the landlord, presently discovered that he was hidden in an adjoining empty house, and having driven him out he was immediately secured. The other prisoners were taken into custody in the course of the same day.

It was not until Thursday morning that the remains of Mr. Wilkinson were recovered from the river. They were then washed ashore opposite the very spot where they had sunk. They presented in themselves sufficient evidence of the violence which the unfortunate gentleman had suffered. The nose was broken, and the head, face, and hands, were severely bruised. At an inquest held on the body on the next evening, Friday the 20th of July, Mr. Davis, a surgeon, was examined, who had inspected the body of the deceased. He declared, that the injuries of themselves would have been sufficient to cause death, but he suggested that in all probability they had created insensibility, and that the deceased, having sunk, had been suffocated by drowning. The facts which have been already detailed were proved in evidence before the jury, and a verdict of “Wilful Murder” against Brown and Kennedy was returned; the latter being recognised by Mr. Smales as the man with the night-cap, who had been most active in the attack. The other prisoners were declared to be insufficiently connected with the affair to admit of their being included in the verdict which had been given; but the further investigation of the case was directed to be carried on by Captain Richbell, the magistrate at the Thames Police Office.

The subsequent inquiries of the police-officer tended to confirm the suspicions which were entertained with reference to Brown and Kennedy. The papers, the destruction of which it had been shown Kennedy was anxious to procure, had been only partially burned; and some fragments of them which were secured, were proved to bear the hand-writing of the deceased. The coats too of Mr. Smales and Mr. Wilkinson were afterwards discovered at the lodgings occupied by the two prisoners. The ends of justice, it was considered, rendered it fit that Kitley and Flack should be examined as witnesses, and their testimony afforded conclusive proof of the premeditated guilt of their late companions of the crime of robbery; but they asserted their belief that in determining to commit that offence, they had no intention to cause the death of the persons whom they attacked.

The prisoners Brown and Kennedy said that the statement of these new witnesses was quite true, and they admitted that they had put off in the boat from Mr. Moore’s yard, intending to rob Mr. Wilkinson, but they affirmed that although on that gentleman’s jumping to their boat, they had pushed his hands off to prevent his any longer clinging to the gunwale, they had struck him no blows with their oars, but that the wounds which he had been found to have received, had been caused first by his falling, when he jumped with his face on their boat’s stern; and secondly, by the ill-directed attempts of Mr. Smales to throw to him the sculls, with which he might assist himself, in keeping his head above water.

The prisoners were then committed for trial; Lyons, against whom there appeared to be no evidence, being discharged, and the other men, Kitley and Flack, being bound over to give evidence.

The further and final investigation of the case, before Mr. Justice Patteson and a jury, took place at the Old Bailey, on Friday the 7th of September. The evidence having then been gone through, the prisoners put in a written statement, reiterating the defence which they had made before the magistrate. A verdict of “Guilty” followed, and sentence of death was immediately passed on the prisoners by the Recorder, and their execution was directed to take place on the following Monday.

In the course of the trial, however, circumstances had arisen which induced a belief on the minds of the jury, that there might be some doubts whether the intention of the prisoners might not have been that which they had pointed out, and whether in fact the blows received by the deceased might not have been unintentionally dealt by the hand of his friend, Mr. Smales. The evidence which was adduced, compelled them to return a verdict of “guilty,” but immediately after the trial a petition was prepared and signed by them, in which they prayed that some further inquiry might take place, with a view to the commutation of the punishment, to which the prisoners had been sentenced. The learned judge was equally uncertain with them, whether, in truth, Mr. Smales might not unconsciously have struck Mr. Wilkinson, while he was in the water, and whether the prisoners’ account of the transaction might not be true; and these doubts being increased by the production of an affidavit, which was placed in the hands of the sheriff, that the deceased was intoxicated at the time of the occurrence, (although this statement was contradicted by Mr. Smales), sufficient grounds were deemed to be made out for a respite being granted. While, however, this measure of leniency was accorded, it was distinctly intimated, that it was only under the peculiar circumstances of the case, that the Privy Council had taken upon itself to recommend the exercise of the royal prerogative of mercy. The crime of murder had no doubt been proved, but the remarkable nature of the transaction rendered it advisable that, while justice was impartially administered, its dictates should not be obeyed with harshness. The respite was communicated to the wretched convicts, on Sunday the 9th of September, when they expressed themselves deeply grateful for the lenient view which had been taken of their case. During their imprisonment they had conducted themselves in a manner to show their sincere penitence for the crimes which had marked their previous lives. They admitted their participation in many robberies on the river, and on its banks, for which they had frequently been apprehended, and acknowledged the wickedness of their career.

Their punishment was eventually commuted to transportation, to which they had confessed themselves liable.

WILLIAM JOHNSON.

EXECUTED FOR MURDER.

On Wednesday afternoon, the 19th of December, 1832, at about four o’clock, he quitted Mr. Addington’s house for the last time. He took his gun with him, saying he was going shooting, but promised to return at ten o’clock; he was carried back on the next day a corpse. The unfortunate young man, it appears, having enjoyed his favourite pastime, repaired to the Three Horse Shoes, where he met some of his companions. Four persons, named William Johnson, the son of a gardener in the vicinity; Richard Wagstaff, a baker; Samuel Cooper, a carter, who was quite a lad, and the son of a labouring man; and Samuel Sleath, or Fare, a person who appeared to have no determined occupation, were seen in his company, and they were engaged playing at dominoes (as usual), and drinking together, apparently upon excellent terms. At about a quarter past ten o’clock young Danby declared that he must go home; but he had now become somewhat intoxicated, and on his reaching the open air, he was observed by Mrs. Perry, the landlady of the public-house, to stagger. Johnson and Fare said that they would see him home; but their manner induced a suspicion in the mind of Wagstaff that they were going to rob him: he therefore called to young Cooper to come away; but his answer was, that he had been with them all the evening, and that he meant to “go up there” with them now. Wagstaff then went away in a direction the contrary to that taken by Danby and the others.

On the following morning, at half-past five o’clock, a man named Wheeler, a labourer, was passing through a place called Holt White’s-lane, about half-a-mile from the Three Horse Shoes, when he observed a dead body in the ditch. He called a man named Ashley to him, and they discovered that it was the body of young Danby. His legs were towards the road, and the head in the ditch, face downwards; and on their turning it over, it presented a horrible and ghastly spectacle. The face was cut and slashed in a most dreadful manner; the flesh was scored out, as it were, in five places; and the right whisker was completely cut away, and hung suspended to the jaw by a small piece of skin. In the throat of the murdered man they observed a deep stab, inflicted in the manner which would be practised by a butcher in killing a sheep, the knife having been turned in the wound. They at once communicated the particulars of this horrifying discovery to the police of the town, who lost no time in procuring the removal of the body to a neighbouring public-house, “The Old Sergeant,” and in conveying the dreadful intelligence to Mr. Addington.

Inquiries were instantly set on foot, and the circumstances above detailed having been ascertained, Johnson, Fare, and Cooper were taken into custody. The first-named person was found sitting in his father’s house, deep in thought. He instantly consented to accompany the officer. Fare was found in the village in the course of the day; and on his being searched, eleven shillings were found on him, although on the previous day his poverty had driven him to procure two shillings, parish relief; and Cooper was found driving a brewer’s waggon within fifty yards of the spot where the murder was committed, having unconcernedly just passed a crowd assembled at the place, gazing in horror at the scene of the transaction to which he had been a party. At the moment of his being secured, he was listening with well-feigned astonishment at a recital of the dreadful discovery of the morning, although at that moment he had upon his head a cap, the inside of which was stained with the blood of the murdered man.

In the course of the day the spot where the murder had been committed was minutely examined. It appeared as if there had been much struggling, and as if the unfortunate deceased had made a desperate resistance. On the ground near the body were found a number of shot, and a long strip of cloth; and at some distance the handkerchief, which the deceased had carried, was also picked up. The deceased was proved to have carried shot with him on his quitting Mr. Addington’s house, together with the bowl of a tobacco-pipe to load his gun. Some shot, exactly similar to those found in the road, and the bowl of a tobacco-pipe also agreeing in appearance with that used by the deceased, were found on Fare; and the trousers worn by Johnson were ascertained to correspond in colour with the strip of cloth found, and to have lost such a piece of their original fabric.

Thus much evidence had been obtained, when the prisoner Cooper sent for one of the constables, and declared that he would tell him all. He then proceeded to detail to him the circumstances attending the murder; but as he subsequently repeated his statement before the coroner, it shall be given in the more authentic form in which it was there received.

The inquest first sat upon the body of the deceased on the day after the discovery of the murder, but its proceedings were continued from day to day for a week from the date of their commencement.

On Monday the 24th of December, Cooper made his statement in the following terms:—

“On the Wednesday night, about ten o’clock, I went to the Horse Shoes public-house, to get me a pint of beer, and there was John Taylor, Charles Jackson, Danby, and Richard Wagstaff playing at dominoes; William Johnson and Samuel Fare were also there. When they had done playing at dominoes, Fare and deceased began tossing for beer and gin; they gave me some of the beer and gin to drink. We all went out together about eleven o’clock, or a little after; I went out first, and Johnson, Fare, Richard Wagstaff, and the sailor (deceased) followed. The man who was murdered fell against the rails of the river, near the door of the Horse Shoes, and then asked some of us to lead him home; Johnson and Fare took hold of him, and led him as far as Wagstaff’s. In going along, Wagstaff persuaded me to go home, but I did not go. I had got as far as Wagstaff’s, and the others were a little farther on; Fare, Johnson, and the deceased had a scuffle, and Wagstaff went into his house just at that time. Fare fell down, when deceased took hold of me by the arm, and asked me to lead him home; I and William Johnson and the deceased went on, and Fare stopped behind. When we got opposite Mr. Addington’s, Johnson persuaded the deceased to go on, and get a pint of beer; the deceased said, ‘With all my heart;’ and then me, Johnson, and the man went on. I thought he was going to Mr. Cutliffe’s, but he went on to Holt White’s-lane, or Chase-road, as it is called; a man and a woman passed us there, and I wished them good night; Johnson, the deceased, and me, went up the Chase-road, and I thought we were going to get some beer at the top of the hill; we went up until we almost came to Pinnock’s (a beer-shop), when Johnson turned us round; I had hold of one arm of the deceased and Johnson the other; and on Johnson turning us round, I was next to the ditch, I having hold of the left arm; on going down the road, and when we had proceeded about eight or nine poles, Johnson said, ‘I am cursed if Sam (Fare) harn’t robbed me;’ about half-a-minute after, Johnson put his foot behind the deceased and threw him down on me, and I fell in the ditch with the deceased upon me; my head was underneath the head and shoulders of the deceased; I drew myself from under the deceased, and my cap came off; I felt about for my cap, and found it underneath the man’s head; it was all over blood; I said to Bill Johnson, ‘What have you been doing with the man? Don’t hurt him;’ he said, ‘I’ve done him;’ when I got out of the ditch, and stood in the middle of the road trembling, Johnson came away from the man to me; when deceased lifted up his head, and said, ‘O, don’t, don’t, pray don’t, I know;’ Johnson then said, ‘Here, take this knife, and go and finish him;’ I replied, that I would not; Johnson said, ‘Don’t say a word,’ and shook his fist at me; he then went and killed the man directly; I should have run away, only I was afraid I should have been served the same; I saw Johnson pick up something from the side of deceased; he then took a handkerchief from the deceased, and gave me a piece of bread out of it, which I threw over the hedge; we then came away down the road, and Johnson several times said, ‘Don’t say anything to anybody;’ I wanted to go to my own house, but he said, ‘Come this way across the fields, don’t go that way.’ We then went across Mr. Corney’s field, and over the New River bridge; Johnson washed his hands and his knife in the river; it was a black-handled clasp knife, which I have seen several times; after washing the knife, we went over the Horse-shoe bridge, and turning down by the river side, near Mr. Robinson’s, Johnson took the deceased’s handkerchief from his pocket, and threw it into the water; we then parted, Johnson again urging me to say nothing; I then went home; Fare left us near Mr. Cutliff’s (near the house where Wagstaff lived); I did not see him again after I took hold of the deceased to lead him away.”

The prisoners, Johnson and Fare, were introduced into the room before the case was concluded, and the nature of the evidence against them stated to them. They contented themselves with denying the truth of the allegations which were made, and conducted themselves throughout with extraordinary composure.

The jury at the conclusion of the proceedings returned a verdict that the deceased had been wilfully murdered by Johnson and Cooper, and that Fare had been accessory before the fact.

The prisoners were then committed to Newgate to await their trial Cooper being also detained in custody to give evidence.

On Friday the 4th of January, 1833, the prisoners, Johnson and Fare, were put upon their trial at the Old Bailey. The inquiry lasted during the whole day, and the court was much crowded. There being now no further evidence than there had been before the coroner, to implicate Fare in the actual murder, he was acquitted, and removed from the bar; and Johnson was then called on for his defence. He put in a written statement, commenting upon the prejudices which had been excited against him, and declaring that Cooper’s must have been the hand by which the deed was done, for that he and Fare had left the deceased with him at the end of Holt White’s-lane on the night of the murder, and had seen no more of either of them afterwards.

The jury retired to deliberate upon their verdict; but after an absence of two hours, they declared the prisoner to be “Guilty.” Sentence of death was instantly passed, and the prisoner was ordered for execution on the following Monday, a doom which he heard with little emotion.

On the appointed day, the 7th of January 1833, the sentence of death was carried out upon the body of the malefactor. There was an immense concourse of spectators; and on the appearance of the culprit on the platform, the groans and exclamations of disgust on the part of the mob were deafening. The unhappy culprit was, however, lost to all sense of the misery of his condition, and was totally unable to stand without assistance. The rope was placed round his neck as quickly as possible; and at the usual signal the drop fell.

During the time intervening between his conviction and his death, the wretched man appeared to become alive to the awful position in which he stood. He was frequently exhorted by the worthy ordinary of the jail, to whom he declared his sincere repentance. On the Sunday he was visited by his wife, to whom he had been married about three years, and who was now in an advanced state of pregnancy. The interview was exceedingly affecting; and Johnson, who, it would appear, had not been a kind husband, seemed deeply to feel the harsh conduct of which he had been guilty, and entreated her forgiveness. After his wife had gone, he sunk gradually to a state of stupor, from which nothing could rouse him.

He had previously made a statement to Mr. Sheriff Humphrey, of which the following is a copy:—“I had with others been drinking at the public-house, and afterwards, about eleven or half-past, we left, accompanied by Danby, the deceased. On going home Fare left us, and then Cooper went with Wagstaff. On being left alone with Danby, he informed me that some one had robbed him, and I was so frightened for fear that I should be taken up for highway robbery, that I was determined not to leave, but to get him to some house of safety; and, on passing his relation’s (the baker), I wanted to knock them up, but he would not let me, and said they were gone to bed, and so we passed on; but I now wish that I had stopped there, then this would not have happened; but it is now too late. As we were going on, Cooper came up; he had been away about five minutes, and the moment Danby saw him, he said, in great excitation, ‘This is one of the chaps that robbed me,’ and he flew at him (Cooper) like a tiger, and said he would serve him just in the same way as he served a black man in the East Indies, and in the scuffle we all went down on the ground, by the ditch, and I do most solemnly say, that I did not trip up the deceased; and he (Cooper) also was on the top of him (deceased); and while he was down, Cooper had a knife (a clasp-knife, I think, but the night was so dark I could not say which, and the point was as broad as my two fingers), and he was cutting the deceased. I do also most solemnly say, that I also took the knife, and cut Danby, and did help to kill him; but the knife was not mine, nor do I know where the knife came from. Cooper had it in his hand when the deceased was on the ground in the ditch. Knowing I must leave this world soon, I do most solemnly avow before God, in whose presence I must soon appear, that Cooper first cut the deceased, and I afterwards struck him; and afterwards I stood by and saw Cooper take something out of his pockets. He said, ‘I have got three-halfpence,’ or ‘one penny and one halfpenny.’ We were both very much frightened, and left the deceased in the lane, and went home across the fields. I do also most solemnly say, that when we left the public-house we had no idea of killing him. I do not know who robbed him, but suppose it must have been Fare, as the money was found on him, and it was proved he had been applying for relief from the parish. I can only say, I had no hand in robbing him, either directly or indirectly; and what possessed me to participate in killing him I know not; but, after the deed was done, I was ready to kill myself; and I now say, that I ought to die for committing such an act. The knife which Cooper said, in his examination, was mine, and that it was a black-handled one, and small blade, I do most solemnly avow I had lost some time before, and had no knife with me when we left the public-house. The night was so dark, I could not distinctly see the one the deed was done with, and after it was done I threw the knife into the ditch, and suppose (the knife not being found) that Cooper must have picked it up; and the reason of Cooper’s confession I believe was made thinking I should tell of him first and have him convicted; but we

Burglars in a Farm House.
P. 367.

both said, ‘We shall be hanged.’ I have no ill-will towards any man, and I now leave this world for a crime which I shudder at.”

The unfortunate man, as we have already said, had been married about three years. He was a native of Enfield, and was brought up by his father to the business which he followed, that of a jobbing gardener. He attributed his misfortunes to his marriage, and to his inability to procure work sufficient to support him and his family.

His late fellow-prisoner Fare, was on a subsequent day put upon his trial, for stealing from the deceased the money of which he was known to have been possessed, and a portion of which had been found in the prisoner’s pockets on his apprehension. A verdict of “Guilty” was returned, and the prisoner was sentenced to be transported for fourteen years.

Fare, it appears, was like Johnson a native of Enfield, and at the time of his apprehension lived with his mother, a widow in that village. He had been occasionally employed among his neighbours at jobbing-work of all descriptions, and was at the time of the murder in extreme poverty.

Cooper, the companion in guilt of the two convicts, having been detained in custody until the end of the sessions, was then discharged.

JAMES BERRYMAN AND THOMAS BERRYMAN.

CONVICTED OF BURGLARY.

On the night of the 2d of November, the elder of Mr. Hancox’s sons was in the homestead or farm-yard attached to his father’s house, when he observed three men approaching whose appearance was strange to him, and whose intentions he was disposed to believe were not honest, as the farm was considerably out of the main road, and nearly two miles from any other house. He determined, therefore, to retire to the cover of the dwelling to procure the assistance of his father and brother, in case of any intention to commit violence being shown, in order by their united efforts to repel any attack which might be made. To reach the house in a direct line he sprang over the garden fence, but in taking the leap his foot caught something, and he fell to the ground. The approaching strangers by this accident were enabled to come up with him at the moment he entered the kitchen-door; and the young man, now convinced of their evil designs, called to them to know what they wanted, at the same time advancing to the fire-place to reach down a gun which was suspended over the mantel-piece, in accordance with the custom of most farm-houses of the district. An observation was made by one of the party, the precise nature of which was not heard; and young Hancox turning round to ascertain what was said, suddenly received in his face and eyes the greater portion of the contents of a pistol discharged by one of his assailants, consisting of small shot and sand. The unfortunate young man blinded, and for a moment deprived of his senses, fell to the ground; but his father entering the kitchen at the moment of the discharge of the pistol, was also wounded by some of the shot. The disturbance created by this sudden attack instantly attracted to the spot the other inmates of the house; and Mrs. Hancox and her younger son directly afterwards entered the kitchen. They were, however, felled to the ground by the same ruffian who had fired the pistol; and then a second fellow armed with a sword advanced to them, and swore he would murder them if they made any outcry, or attempted any resistance.

Thus overpowered, Mr. Hancox at once perceived the uselessness of making any effort to prevent the object which he conceived his assailants to have in view—that of robbery; and the foremost villain, with the man who had hitherto taken no active part in the affair, instantly proceeded to ransack the house for valuables. Demanding that Mr. Hancox should first give him what money he had in his possession, they received from him a sum of 65l. in bank-notes and gold, and then they proceeded to the upper rooms to secure whatever portable articles they could find which might be worth being carried away. The daughters of Mr. Hancox had been dreadfully alarmed at the proceedings of the robbers in the kitchen, of which they had been partial witnesses, and terrified lest violence should be offered to them also, they had run in different directions from the house to the garden and out-houses, in order to conceal themselves. The two thieves on whom the task of searching the premises had devolved, had made their examination of several rooms, when they reached the apartment occupied as the sleeping-room of the eldest Miss Hancox. They had a light with them which reflected through the window, and the youngest Miss Hancox supposing that it was her sister going to bed, yet afraid to re-enter the house, which she knew the thieves had not yet quitted, threw a handful of gravel at the window. The boldest burglars, it is well known, may be easily alarmed, and so it proved in this case; the villains, whose consciences doubtless pictured to their minds the approach of powerful assistance to repel their attack, made a precipitate retreat from the house, carrying with them some articles of silver plate; and running in a direction contrary to that by which they had approached it, were soon lost to view in the darkness of the night.

Instant medical aid was now procured for Mr. Hancox and his son, who were suffering severely from the wounds which they had received; and the youngest son was despatched to Disley with intelligence of the outrage, and a request that assistance might be immediately afforded in searching for its perpetrators. The village soon sent forth all its male inhabitants to assist in the inquiry, but in vain; and after many hours’ watching they were compelled to return home without having learned anything tending to convey any suspicion in their minds as to who were the guilty parties. Young Hancox, it was found, had been severely wounded both in the face and eyes, and to the grief of all it was ascertained that his eyesight had been destroyed entirely, and for ever.

On the following day information of the event was conveyed to London, together with such a description of the persons of the robbers as Mr. Hancox and his family were able to give. Their features had been partially concealed by red comforters which covered the lower part of their faces, and by black crape: but Mr. Hancox and his family had a strong impression upon their minds of the general appearance of the men, whom they declared they should be able to recognise if they were again to see them.

Upon the facts of the case being stated to the magistrates at Bow-street, Ellis, an active and shrewd officer of that establishment, was instructed to exert himself in securing the offenders. A few inquiries on the spot were sufficient to put him upon a scent, which in the sequel proved the correctness of his judgment. Three brothers of the name of Berryman, natives of Gloucestershire, but now resident in London, were the persons to whom his suspicions attached the guilt of the transaction; but he found that he had wily game to follow. The apprehension of one without the others would have been to destroy his chance of complete success; for to let it be known that they were suspected, would be only to cause their instant flight. To secure his object, therefore, he had to act with extreme caution. He found that James Berryman, one of the brothers, was engaged as a journeyman hatter in the service of Mr. Straight, in Charlotte-street, Blackfriars-road, while his brother William, the youngest of the three, was occupied in the uncertain calling of selling pies and sweetmeats in the streets, his usual haunt being the neighbourhood of Goswell-street. The third brother, Thomas, was to be seen occasionally with each of his relations, but appeared to have no fixed occupation or employment. Ellis, with an assistant, a lad named Goodison, was for several weeks intent upon watching his prey without being able to find the favourable moment to pounce upon them, and disguised in almost every variety of costume he continued his observations of them. At length, on Wednesday morning, the 5th of December, he succeeded in finding them all together in Goswell-street, and closing upon them he secured them and carried them to Bow-street. James and Thomas Berryman were then instantly recognised by the younger son of Mr. Hancox, who had been awaiting their apprehension in London, as having been parties to the robbery, and Ellis declaring his impression that he should be able also to procure evidence against the third brother in Gloucestershire, they were all three ordered to be conveyed to Disley.

Upon their arrival there they were examined by a local magistrate, by whom they were remanded until a subsequent day. On that day James Berryman was distinctly sworn to as the man who had discharged the pistol, and his brother Thomas was recognised as having been one of his associates; but the third brother, William, against whom there was no proof whatever, was discharged out of custody. The testimony of the family of Mr. Hancox as to the identity of the prisoners was not left wholly unsupported, but by the indefatigable exertions of the officer other corroborative evidence was procured. This consisted of proof of the absence of the prisoners from London on the day before and the day after the robbery; of their arrival at Cirencester from London on the afternoon of the 2d of November in a van, and of their almost instant departure from that place in the direction of Disley; and finally, of their presence at the Bird-in-Hand public-house, about twenty-five miles on the London road, apparently foot-sore and fatigued, at mid-day on the 3d of November; and of their departure from that place in the evening in the waggon for London, and their subsequent arrival in the metropolis.

Upon this evidence the prisoners were committed for trial at the ensuing assizes; but Ellis was still convinced of the practicability of securing the third man, who had been engaged in this atrocious outrage. He had reason to believe that he was a relation of the Berrymans, named Desmond, alias Hunt; and after considerable difficulty he at length succeeded in securing him by a stratagem, while he was working at his trade of a shoemaker in the Goswell-street-road.

This new prisoner, however, expressed his anxiety to disclose all he knew upon the subject; and although it was known that he was implicated in the transaction, the uncertainty of procuring his conviction operated in his favour, and he was admitted to give evidence for the prosecution.

On Saturday, the 6th of April 1833, the trial of James and Thomas Berryman took place. The testimony of all the witnesses tended at once to attach the guilt of firing the pistol to the former prisoner; and the latter was also positively identified as having been a party to the robbery. The statement of the approver confirmed the declarations of the other witnesses, and both prisoners were found guilty.

The superior atrocity of the conduct of the prisoner James Berryman, marked him as a fit object for the infliction of a punishment of a serious nature, and he was sentenced to death, while his brother received sentence of transportation for life.

The sentence of death was executed upon James Berryman at Gloucester, on Saturday the 20th of April.

RICHARD COSTER.

TRANSPORTED FOR FORGERY.

We are not able to supply our readers either with the date or the name of the place of the birth of our hero, neither are we in possession of the mean of informing them who were his parents, or what was the sphere of life in which they moved. From the extent of the education of their son, however, it is pretty evident that their rank was considerably below that which may be denominated as the “genteel;” and the same conclusion may also be drawn from the very early period of life at which this most daring public depredator was placed “upon his own bottom,” and sent forth to gain a living for himself. At an early age we find him at Oxford, and his first employment of any note was that of driving an errand-cart, between that city and London. In this humble occupation he continued for some years, and such were his industrious and penurious habits, that he at length realised sufficient money to start on his own account, in the “costermongering line,” with a horse and cart of his own. In this business he soon found the importance of a connexion with the metropolitan trade, and ere long he located himself in London, a scene admirably adapted for the display of those peculiar talents which he possessed. He was not long there in forming acquaintances, and connexions with persons, whose advice and instruction were highly important to him, in the scenes in which he was destined to move. Horse chaunters, or copers, swindlers of all sorts, utterers of base coin, thieves, “et hoc omne genus,” were his constant companions, and Coster now became the competent associate of all. He felt, however, that he had a genius above the situation in which he was placed, and that his present calling was beneath the position which he ought to fill, and he soon quitted dealing in apples, and, by the various gradations of a small horse-dealer, an occasional purchaser of the proceeds of the produce of his associates’ plunder, and the other occupations commonly followed by such “men upon town,” he at length started in the year 1810, in Queen-street, Bristol, as a general agent and bill discounter.

Here, however, he was unfortunate; for in the course of the year he became an inmate of Newgate, in that city, on a charge of obtaining goods by false pretences; but on this occasion he seems to have slipped pretty quickly through the hands of justice, for in the following year we find him at the head of the firm of Coster and Co., in Bread-street, St. Philip’s, Bristol.

His retirement to Bristol appears to have taken place in consequence of the notoriety which he had gained in London; but in 1814 we find him again shifting his quarters back to the seclusion of the crowded metropolis, for a reason, apparently, no other than that which had before induced his migration from it; conjoined, however, with a desire to avail himself of the wider sphere of action which was presented to him in that city. At this period he located himself at No. 8, Eltham-place, Kent-road; but a short residence there satisfied him, and he removed to No. 204, High Holborn, from whence, in 1815, he again changed his quarters to No. 7, Bazing-lane. In the following year, as if to be as close to the good things of this life as possible, he carried on the business of an eating-house keeper, at No. 19, Noble-street, Falcon-square; but in the year 1818, he again appeared in the world of money, as a job-broker, at No. 5, Oat-lane, Wood-street, and at No. 22, Lower Smith-street, Northampton-square, while at the same time he acted as clerk to a Mr. Thomas Gray, provision merchant, No. 4, Berry-court, Love-lane, Wood-street.

In 1819, Coster removed to No. 3, Bridge-water square, Barbican, at which time he is still represented as acting clerk to the above Thomas Gray, at No. 1, King-street-terrace, Lower Islington, and No. 4, Cross-street, Finsbury. The following year (1820), he established himself (still retaining his locality in Bridgewater-square) at No. 4, Staining-lane, under the firm of Coates and Smith, and afterwards under that of Smith and Martin, of both of which he was the ostensible partner. In Staining-lane, he carried on business for a number of years; and only gave up this concern in 1829, to conduct, on a larger scale, his operations, under the firm of Young and Co., Little Winchester-street; and Casey and Coster, Great Elbow-lane, Dowgate-hill, Upper Thames-street.

In the course of these repeated changes of residence, and of avocation, however, Coster did not pass unnoticed, or unknown. In September 1825, he was indicted at the Old Bailey, together with a man named Frederick Wilson, described as of No. 35, Union-street, Moorfields, for a conspiracy to defraud; and at the same sessions, Wilson was convicted upon a charge of obtaining bills of exchange under false pretences, and sentenced to seven years’ transportation. At the following sessions, too, Coster was also indicted for an offence precisely similar to that upon which his companion, Wilson, had been convicted. The prosecutor, in this case, it appears was a person named Marquet; and Coster, having first tried every means, and spent a large sum of money in endeavouring to escape from justice, at length succeeded in compromising the indictment with him, and in destroying all the evidence of his guilt which was in existence, namely, the bills which he was charged to have illegally obtained.

In February 1826, Coster was announced, by the report of the Society for the Suppression of Swindling, to have a warehouse in Little Britain; and in the May following his name was gazetted in the list of bankrupts. He had at the same time a counting-house at No. 5, New Union-street, Little Moorfields, under the firm of William Stoppe and Co., and was drawing bills on Messrs. John Heslop and Co., corn merchants and flour factors, South Town, Yarmouth, Norfolk; which were accepted, payable at Messrs. Esdaile and Co.’s, in connexion with Lacon and Co., Yarmouth Bank, indorsed “Major J. H. Montgomery.”

In June 1827, Coster is proclaimed as circulating bills to a large amount in Bristol, and elsewhere; and in the report of the Society of the following September, we find it stated, that “Richard Coster, so often mentioned, has procured his admission, under the feigned name of De Coste, into the Honourable Society of Freemasons, at the Burlington Lodge, No. 152.”

The Swindling Report for the 23rd of January 1828, localises our worthy at No. 111, Hatton Garden; and in the March following we trace him to the Queen’s Arms-yard, Newgate-street, where he kept an office, while at the same time he had another place of business at No. 9, Parliament-street, Westminster, under the name of Davis and Co., together with a feather-bed manufactory, at No. 19, Macclesfield-street, City-road, under the name of Smith and Bruce; and a Wharf, at No. 11, City-road Basin, in the name of Smith. In the course of the same year, this most determined swindler is announced as having a house at No. 14, Dorset Crescent, New North-road; as having procured gloves and silk manufactured goods in the name of Wright and Co., Little Winchester-street; and as having premises at No. 2, York Wharf, Jew’s Harp Basin, in the name of J. Smith; “And I am also directed to inform you (says the secretary to the Society for the Protection of Trade), that Young, Richards, and Co., No. 5, Upper Thames-street; Young and Co., No. 6, Little Winchester-street, Broad-street; Brown and Co., No. 3, Cushion-court, Broad-street; and Yates, Smith, and Co., No. 3, Cushion-court, Broad-street, are firms belonging to Richard Coster, so often noticed.”

In the following July, Coster is again alluded to in this report, as having a residence at No. 1, James-street, Kent-road, and another at Myrtle Cottage, Goswell-terrace, Goswell-street-road; and in the following October there appeared in the Gazette a formal notice of the dissolution of partnership between Richard Coster and William Cunningham, of No. 4 Staining-lane, merchants, warehousemen, and general dealers.

It would be useless to go through the vast variety of places of residence and of business which Coster occupied, as well as of the denominations of trades which he carried on up to the year 1833, when he was taken into custody. A bullion dealer, in Little Winchester-street; he was driven thence to Great St. Helens, and to Primrose-street, Bishopsgate. A coral dealer at the latter place he was again discovered and proclaimed; and at length he pitched his stall in New-street, Bishopsgate, the most fortunate of all his speculations, so far as the extent of business which he transacted went, but the most unfortunate considering the result of his proceedings here, namely, his conviction and transportation.

While, however, we have thus described the wanderings of Mr. Coster from house to house, and from business to business, we have not as yet acquainted our readers with the measures by which he was so successful in his cheating schemes. The following copy of a circular issued by him, headed “Accommodation,” in large black letters, supported by the emblems of masonry, gives a fair sample of his mode of raising the supplies.

He commenced his leading documents thus—with all the pomp and parade of a recruiting-sergeant at a country fair to catch his flats:—

“Merchants, manufacturers, farmers, graziers, tradesmen, and persons of respectability in England, Ireland, Scotland, and Wales, or in any foreign part, may have good London accepted bills of exchange procured for them, regularly drawn, accepted, and indorsed, and, if necessary, specially indorsed to them, at any dates and for any amount their circumstances may require; or they may be allowed to draw themselves on respectable and responsible houses in the city of London, and which will be regularly accepted when presented for that purpose, provided, the drawers advise of such bills being drawn, and enclose the commission of eight-pence in the pound (otherwise they will be disowned). These bills they get easily discounted at their country bankers, or amongst their private monied friends; and in some cases pay them for merchandise, even on their own respectability, and, when they become due, they remit to us, or any friend in London, the money to pay the same; and in case they are incapable of taking them up, they again apply to us in sufficient time to procure them fresh bills, say upon B, which they instantly get discounted, and with the proceeds thereof pay the first they negotiated upon A; and so they go on until such time as their own produce or property turns into advantage, so as to enable them to do without this accommodation or temporary aid. By this mode money to any amount may be raised, according to the circumstances and situation of the borrower, at about seven per cent., the object of which is trifling, when compared to the advantage a man of business may receive from being furnished with plenty of money to speculate and trade with.”

The eightpence in the pound spoken of as being required to be transmitted, and not unfrequently bills to which the poor dupes were induced to put their signatures, were invariably disposed of by the London negotiator, who failed not to reap the profit himself, which he professed generously to give to his country agents.

The conclusion of this document is equally well worth perusal with its commencement, and serves at once to stamp our hero as the very prince and leader of all swindlers.

“He must be a bad merchant, tradesman, or agriculturist,” says Coster, “who cannot always make from fifteen to twenty per cent. of money. Some persons, for want of knowing this system of raising money, are obliged to sacrifice their property by locking it up in mortgages for one half its value, and spend the other half in paying solicitors’ enormous bills, and expenses of mortgage deeds, &c. We have particularly to observe, that the parties pay all expenses of postage, to and from, also bill stamps, and our net commission of eightpence in the pound, which commission, with money for stamps, &c. must be remitted before we send the bills. We also have respectable references from the parties, before we accommodate them, to some of their friends in London (if any), otherwise in the country (the strictest secrecy and delicacy being observed in the inquiry), to know if they are really respectable, and an acknowledgement or undertaking when they receive such bills of accommodation, stating that they received them for the express purpose, and will pay them when due. When any bills become due, if the money is remitted to us, or goods equivalent thereto, a day or two beforehand, we will at all times pay them here, without any extra charge whatever; and for any money which may be entrusted to our care, if the parties have not friends here, for taking up the bills when due, or any goods that may be consigned to us for sale, on commission, we can give security and references on our part of the highest respectability.”

An instance of his success under this circular may not be uninteresting.

A farmer in Essex, taken off his guard by the apparent plausibility of this high-sounding circular, complied with the requisitions, and got bills accepted by Coster, in the name of one of his firms, to the amount of two hundred pounds, in two bills, at three and four months. When they became due, the honest hood-winked bumpkin, relying on the apparent integrity of the party, remitted a hundred pounds, the amount of the bill, which fell with the nicest precision into the hands of the swindler, who, indeed, anticipated nothing less. This circumstance only got wind through the medium of a lawyer’s letter to the drawer, who hastened with all possible expedition to town to learn the cause of such an unexpected application, when, as he had assured himself, the bill ought to have been in the hands of his accommodating friends, for the hundred pound equivalent which he had punctually forwarded to them for that purpose. His astonishment, however, was not diminished on his reaching Little Winchester-street, when he was plumply told by Coster himself that no such letter as the one to which he alluded, containing the money, had been received, and, in short, that it was all “a humbug.” “That the firm of Young and Company, the acceptors of the bill, had recently been bankrupts, and had gone away, the Lord knew where.” At such tidings, the poor farmer looked as sheepish as an Essex calf; and finding all his applications accompanied with the same uncompromising negative, he was glad, to prevent an exposure of circumstances, which might have been the means of ruining him, to beat a retreat to his native place; not, however, without the reflection of having purchased a hundred pounds’ worth of common sense to direct his future conduct in the bill line.

This, however, is far from being a solitary instance of the success of our hero’s schemes, or the uncompromising impudence and determination with which he proceeded in his machinations.

The variety of the names and residences of the firms of which he was the sole proprietor enabled him to carry on his trade with great plausibility and success. Thus, when a transaction was to be carried on by Messrs. Young and Co. of Little Winchester-street, Messrs. Brown and Co. of Cushion-court would be perfectly able to speak in the highest terms of the respectability of that firm, and the delivery of goods, or the handing over of bills of exchange to be discounted, as the case might be, was looked upon as being secure, and as being perfectly warranted, by the reference. It would be as useless as impossible to go through one tithe of the speculations of this vagabond, by which he gulled various persons engaged in trade. In one case he obtained the whole stock of a celebrated wine-grower in Germany, who was about to sell off, to be consigned to him; in another he procured the possession of a very large quantity of Dublin stout; while, in a third, he became the consignee of a valuable stock of timber; in neither of which transactions, however, did he ever pay one shilling of the purchase money. The number of his aliases, and the impossibility of identifying his person, secured him from the consequences of arrest; for in no transaction in which he engaged did he ever appear personally to complete the terms of his contract, or to give any security for re-payment. All was done through the medium of agents, whom he had bound to him by some tie of more than ordinary firmness, and who acted either as principal or agent, as purchaser or referee, as the necessities of the case might require their employment. To these persons, who were mostly decayed tradesmen, he behaved with little generosity. They were retained at salaries varying from ten to twenty shillings per week, according to the extent of their usefulness; and he scrupled not, whenever an opportunity presented itself, to cheat them of their stipulated share of the plunder which he might procure. At the time of his apprehension, Coster had four of these persons in his employment, one of whom, named Smith, had long been in his service, and was now destined to become his dupe, and to be liable to the same amount of punishment as his master.

It is to Alderman Sir Peter Laurie, and to his indefatigable exertions, that the public are indebted for the riddance of the city of this notorious swindler. Sir Peter had long been aware of his existence, and of the mischiefs which he produced, and the frauds which he committed, and he determined to suffer no exertion of his to be spared to secure his apprehension and conviction. He soon discovered his residence in New-street, and had him taken into custody, with his man Smith. Coster, it appears, had not latterly confined his business to the ordinary routine of swindling by procuring goods under pretence of the solvency of his firm, but he had added to it that of putting off forged notes. In the month of February 1833, he and Smith wrote letters to a person named Clarke, residing at Honiton, in Devonshire, desiring him to transmit a quantity of lace to Mr. W. Jackson, at No. 84, Bishopsgate-street (the Four Swans), and inclosing three 10l. notes to pay for it. Mr. Clarke discovered that the notes were forged, and transmitted them to the Bank of England solicitor (Mr. Freshfield), with an account of the manner in which they had reached his hands. A scheme was determined to be put in operation to secure Mr. Jackson, whoever he might be, and fictitious parcels were made up and sent to the Four Swans, purporting to be transmitted from Honiton. Smith applied to receive them, and they were handed over to him, upon which he was immediately taken into custody. Coster was soon after discovered to be at the head of the transaction and was also secured, and the letter containing the notes was found to be in his handwriting.

After undergoing several examinations at the Mansion House, the prisoners were committed to Newgate for trial; and on Tuesday, the 16th of April 1833, were convicted at the Old Bailey. This result to the investigation was principally secured by the testimony of two men, who had formerly been instruments in the hands of Coster, and who gave an extraordinary account of the success of the schemes of their late master.

At the conclusion of the same sessions Coster was sentenced to be transported for life; but his servant, Smith, was unable to attend the court, in consequence of severe ill health, and his judgment was respited. At a subsequent period, however, he also received sentence of transportation.