William Clarke

338

Penny-Lyn Beale on 12th August 2024

No; 7110 1874 - INQUEST held on body at Hobart Town 2 Sept 74. Verdict; Died from Natural Causes

342

Maureen Withey on 16th October 2022

SAINT— GUILTY . Aged 26. CLARK*— GUILTY . Aged 32. DAVIS*— GUILTY . Aged 33. Transported for Fifteen Years. WILLES, LLOYD, AND CUNNINGHAM.— NOT GUILTY .

342

Maureen Withey on 16th October 2022

Old Bailey Proceedings Online (www.oldbaileyonline.org, version 8.0, 16 October 2022), February 1842, trial of WILLIAM SAINT WILLIAM CLARKE JAMES DAVIS GEORGE LLOYD ROBERT WILLES GEORGE CUNNINGHAM (t18420228-1049). WILLIAM SAINT, WILLIAM CLARKE, JAMES DAVIS, GEORGE LLOYD, ROBERT WILLES, GEORGE CUNNINGHAM, Theft > theft from a specified place, 28th February 1842. 1049. WILLIAM SAINT, WILLIAM CLARKE, JAMES DAVIS, GEORGE LLOYD, ROBERT WILLES , and GEORGE CUNNINGHAM were indicted for feloniously breaking and entering the counting-house of Jacob Ruffy, on the 27th of January, at St. Olave, Hart-street, and stealing therein 1 seal, value 1s.; 1 ring, value 1l.; 2 pieces of paper, value 3d.; 1 bill of exchange for 52l. 10s. 7d.; 1 other bill of exchange for 25l. 10s. 7d.; 1 other bill of exchange for 24l. 0s. 2d.; and 1 half of a 5l. Bank-note; his property. MR. BODKIN conducted the Prosecution. WILLIAM HENRY FROUTBECK . I have the care of the house No.59, Mark-lane, which is let out in offices—Mr. Ruffy has two rooms on the second-floor, which he uses for his business—it was my duty to sweep out the rooms, and open the place every morning. On the evening of the 26th of January I left the premises all safe—it is usual to lock the inner-door of the counting-house—sometimes I do so, and sometimes not—when I do, I hang the key up in the place—I locked the outer-door on the 26th, and left it all safe about twenty minutes past seven o'clock in the evening—I went to the premises at a quarter before seven next morning—I found the outer-door perfectly safe, the same as I had left it—I unlocked it, went into the passage, and found it very much deranged, and part of a lantern with some oil lying on the ground, with some pieces of cloth—I am speaking of the passage after opening the door of the house—I went up stairs, but before I came to Mr. Ruffy's door, I ran down stairs immediately, and called over to Alderman Wood's man, who came to the door—I then went to the police-office, and brought a sergeant and some policemen—we then went up stairs to Mr. Ruffy's counting-house, and found the place broken open, and ransacked—the iron safe was broken open, the whole place ransacked, covered with papers, and every place in confusion—I remained till Mr. Ruffy came, which was about ten o'clock. JACOB RUFFY . I carry on business as a merchant, at No. 69, Mark-lane, in the parish of St. Olave, Hart-street. On Thursday morning, the 27th of January, I went to my premises—I found the police-sergeant, and others there, and the place ransacked—among other property stolen, was three bills of exchange—one for 24l., one for 25l., and one for 52l. 10s. 7d.—this bill (produced by inspector Waller) is the one for 52l. 10s. 7d., which I lost—it is a French bill, drawn at Madeira, and so were the others, drawn by Charles Monro Johnson, Fenchurch-street, London—there was also stolen a half of a £5 Bank of England note, No. 32096, dated 13th of April, 1839, which was remitted to me from Madeira—I have the other half of the note with me—the value of the property I lost was about 120l. Cross-examined by MR. PAYNE. Q. The other things were of very small value, except the bills and notes? A. Yes, except two cancelled bills, one of 300l., and the other, 335l.—they were of no value, as they were on wrong stamps. THOMAS PHILLIPS . I am a clerk in the Bank of England. I produce the half of a 5l. note, No. 32096, which was brought to the Bank on the 15th of February by a man named David Davis—I did not see him—these two halves form one note. CHARLES PACKER . I recently kept a public-house called the Old Rum Puncheon, in Rose and Crown-court, near Moorfields—I know some of the prisoners. Better than three weeks ago (to the best of my knowledge) saint, Clarke, and Davis came to my house with their wives, and had some eating and drinking together, as much as came to 25s.—Lloyd was not with them—Saint left half a 5l. note with me as security—the others were not present when it was left with me—they were in the house, but in what part I cannot say—it was left as security for the 25s.—it was to remain with me till the evening—Saint said he expected a gentleman down that would pay him the money for the note, and he would give me 25s. out of it—this was between twelve and one o'clock in the day—they remained at my house till the evening—nobody came in the evening, and they all went away one by one, Saint, Clarke, Davis, and their wives—no application was made to me about the note that evening by anybody—about four or five days afterwards, Lloyd, I think, came—it was Lloyd, I think—I gave the note to Lloyd—he said, "I understand there has been Saint here, and Clarke, and Davis, and run up a score to the amount of 25s., and sooner than you shall be the loser, I will see what I can do—I will take it to a party who will give you the money for it, and get it changed"—upon that I gave it to him—he called on me again a few days afterwards, and said the note was taken to the Bank, and stopped—soon after that inspector Waller came to me—I did not at that time know where Lloyd lived—I went with Waller to No. 9, Willow-walk, Curtain-road, and there found Lloyd—I told Lloyd that I wanted to speak to him respecting the 5l. note—he came out and spoke to me—Waller asked him whether he would go down to his brother-in-law, Cunningham—he said yes, he would go with me—we went, and Waller waited at my place till Lloyd and I returned—Lloyd and I went to Cunningham, and Lloyd, Cunningham, and I returned to Waller—Lloyd and Cunningham were then taken into custody. Cross-examined by MR. PHILLIPS. Q. Was not what Lloyd said, that he would endeavour to find a customer for the half-note, who would pay you the money? A. No, not to my knowledge—I was examined before the Magistrate-Lloyd did say that sooner than I should be a loser, he would find a customer for the half-note, who would pay me the money—when he told me the note was stopped at the Bank, he said it was stopped because it was a stolen note—he took me at once to Cunningham's. his brother-in-law—Waller did not go with us-Lloyd was at liberty to go with me where he liked—he was not in my custody—I told him that Waller would wait at my house for them, and it was after that that Cumningham and Lloyd went with me to Waller at my house—Waller was is his uniform. Cross-examined by MR. PAYNE. Q. What did you do with the note from the time you say Saint gave it to you, till you gave it to Lloyd? A. It was in my possession—I had no other half-note—I put it inside the bar-parlour, in the card-rack over the mantel-piece—no one had access to that, but the lady that keeps the house. MR. BODKIN. Q. Did you find it in the same place? A. Yes. DAVID DAVIS . I keep a clothes-shop in Field-lane. On the 15th of February the prisoner Lloyd came to my shop in company with a person, who I do not know—(looking at the witness Samuel Fletcher)—that is the man—I have known him for many years, living in the, City, as a clothes-salesman—I do not know his name, but his person, and his warehouse where he lived—Lloyd produced this half-note to me, and his child had burnt change for it—I asked how it came burnt—he said his child had burnt it on Saturday night—that he had received it from his employers on the Saturday night—I said I could not think of taking a note of any stranger till I spoke to the Bank of England, and inquired if it was correct—he said, "Very well, I will leave it with you"—and he left it with me—he said he had been to the Bank of England, and they had marked on the note in red ink, "To be paid in fourteen days," and he, wanted the money in his business, as a chair-maker—he said he was a chair-marker—I asked where he received it—he said from his employer in Finsbury-square—I said, "Why not take it back there?"—he said, "I should not like to trouble my master"—he was to leave it with me for examination at the Bank, and was to call between two and three o'clock for an answer—I then went to the Bank, and made inquiries, and on that I returned home—I went to Lloyd, where he gave his address, Long-alley, Moorfields, before the time I appointed for him to come to my house—I went from the Bank to Longalley —I had asked him his address, and he himself gave it to me—I did not find him there—I then went home, and found him at my house with Fletcher—I told him the note was of no use to me, he must go with me to the Bank—he readily went with me to the Bank—at the Bank they told me they could not place it to my account—I told him the Bank would not pay it without an affidavit, and he must go with me—he, and I, and Fletcher went towards the Bank—when we got near the Bank, Lloyd said his brother-in-law knew more about it, and saw it burnt, and he could make a stronger affidavit than he could—he said, "Wait here for five minutes, while I go down and fetch him"—we were then against the Auction-mart—he went down the steps of the area of the Auction-mart, and never returned—I saw no more of him till he was in custody. Cross-examined by MR. PHILLIPS. Q. Had you known him long? A. I never saw him in my life before—Fletcher brought him to my house—I have bought of Fletcher cloth and wool of different descriptions for many years—I have lived in Field-lane forty years—my house has never been searched, there could be nothing found if it was. CHARLES WALLER (City police-inspector.) I went to No. 9, Willowwalk, Curtain-road, on Thursday, the 24th of February—Charles Packer went with me—I found Lloyd there—I told him I wanted to see him, and also asked him if he knew where Cunningham was—he said, "Yes"—I did not say what I wanted to see him for at that time—I asked if he would go with Packer, and meet me at Packer's house, and bring Cunningham with him—he did so—nothing more passed between us—I had not then told him what I wanted him for—when they got to Packer's house I asked Lloyd if he knew anything about the half of a 5l. note which was stolen property—he said "Yes"—I asked him where he received that note from—he said be had received it from Packer—I then asked Cunningham knew anything about the note—he said "No"—I asked Cunningham if he knew anything about the bill for 52l. 10s. 7d. that was also stolen—he said "Yes"—I asked him where he got it from, or from whom he got it—he said a person of the name of Saint; that he (Cunningham) and Lloyd went down to the Auction-mart; that he (Cunningham) gave the bill to Lloyd, and Lloyd gave it to a person named Wood—that was said by Cunningham in Lloyd's presence—I took them both into custody. Cross-examined by MR. PHILLIPS. Q. I believe Lloyd and Cunningham gave you all the assistance in their power? A. They did from the first beginning to the end, and gave what clue they could to the detection of the case—Cunningham in particular, and also Willes. ROBERT HAMBLIN (City police-constable, No. 501.) I took Saint into custody on the 23rd of February, at No. 7, Half Nicol-street, Bethnalgreen—I told him I took him for a burglary at No. 59, Mark-lane—he said he knew nothing at all about it, that others knew more about it than he did. Cross-examined by MR. PAYNE. Q. You searched his place and found nothing? A. Nothing. MR. RUFFY re-examined. There was no appearance of any burning whatever on the half-note when it was stolen. CHARLES MONRO JOHNSON . I am a ship-broker, in Fenchurch-street. This bill for 52l. 10s. 7d. was drawn on me and accepted by me—it was due on the 19th of February; on that day a man named Stevens Wood called on me, and made a communication to me on the subject of that bill in consequence of which I accompanied him to the police-station in Tower-street—I did not desire Wood to be detained—he was detained—he was given into custody in my office. STEVENS WOOD . I am a discount broker, and live at Rotherhithe—I have transacted business at the Auction-mart in London. On the 11th of February I was there; the prisoner Lloyd was introduced to me that day by a person named Baker—I did not know him before—I knew Baker—Lloyd produced this bill to me to get it discounted—it would be due some days after, on the 19th—I found that it required an endorsement, as it was specially endorsed to Mr. Ruffy, and there was no endorsement by Mr. Ruffy upon it—I said, "The bill is not negotiable in its present state, it must have Mr. Ruffy's endorsement on it before it can be negotiated"—he said he would go and get it done—I told him it was rather late then, and asked how long he would be gone—he said be had to go to the Commercial-road; it would take him nearly an hour—he went any and was gone about an hour—when he came back, Cunningham and Willes came with him—the bill was then endorsed as it is now—I told them I would endeavour to get it discounted, and if they would call not morning, I would give them an answer—they agreed to that; Lloyd at first did not wish to leave the bill with me, but Willes said he had known me some length of time, and he was sure it would be right; if I gave an undertaking to return the bill or the money, it would be perfectly safe in my hands; upon that they agreed to leave it—Lloyd said if he could not come himself, I might give the money, or return the bill to Mr. Cunningham—Cunningham came to me next morning—I told him I had not succeeded in getting the bill discounted—I was to make a further effort that day, and to give an answer on the Monday morning—I did not hear or see anything more of them after that day—on the 19th, the day the bill became due, I went to the house of Mr. Johnson, the acceptor, took the bill with me, and made a communication to him, in consequence of which I was taken into custody. Willes. He told me at the station, in the inspector's presence, that he had received the bill from a person named Baker. Witness. I never said I received it from Baker—I said I got it through the introduction of Baker. Willes. I never saw saw him with the bill, till after he got it; he received it from Lloyd and Cunningham; he sent a policeman after me at nine o'clock, on the Saturday night, and when I got to the station he acknowledged that he received it from these parties, and wished me to look after them, which I did, but I never introduced the subject to him, and I never had the bill in my possession five minutes. ROBERT BAKER . I was at the Auction-mart on the 11th of February—I am acquainted with Mr. Wood—I introduced Fletcher to him that day at the Auction-mart, and a person who I believe to be the prisoner Lloyd—Fletcher introduced Lloyd to me, and I introduced him to Mr. Wood, for the purpose of discounting a foreign bill—I knew Fletcher and Wood, but not Lloyd—I believe the bill was left with Wood—I knew nothing of it afterwards. SAMUEL FLETCHER . I live at No. 8, Waterloo-street, St. Luke's—I am a cloth-manufacturer by business, but of late years I have been in the rag line—I am not in business at present. I know Lloyd—I went with him to the Auction-mart, for the purpose of getting a bill for 52l. and upwards discounted—I found Baker there—I knew him, and introduced Lloyd to him, and Baker introduced him to Wood—the bill was left with Wood to get discounted—I did not know Lloyd before Thursday, the 10th of February last, which was the day I went to the Auction-mart—he was introduced to me by Willes, with the 52l., bill—I have known Willes, I believe, upwards of twelve years—when I first knew him he had some paper-mills at High-hill-ferry, bat I had not seen him latterly, perhaps not for a year and a half before the 10th of February—he wished me to call in at the Stirling Castle public-house—he introduced Lloyd to me for the purpose of getting this bill discounted—on Monday, the 14th, there was to be a conclusion about the discount of the 52l. 10l. bill—I went to the Auction-mart that day—I saw Willes and Cunningham there—Cunningham went to get the bill discounted, Mr. Wood said it was specially endorsed, and required an endorsement to be put on it—Cunningham had the bill after it was endorsed, and gave it to Mr. Wood, for the purpose of being discounted—on that Monday Mr. Wood was to give his final answer about discounting the bill—I was at the Auction-mart that Monday—Cunningham was at a house opposite, but became and said, if Wood came with the money or the bill, he was to be called on there—I saw Baker there, but none of the other prisoners, that I am aware of—I saw Mr. Wood that day, and the money was not procured—he came to the Auction-mart, and went over the way to Cunningham—I did not go with him—I saw another person there, whom I have since seen, but not either of the prisoners—when Mr. Wood came back from Cunningham he said something to me; in consequence of which, I went to the Old Rum Puncheon public-house, and there saw Lloyd—Packer gave Lloyd part of a 5l. note—I agreed to go next day with Lloyd to get it changed at Davis's, and we went. JOHN FREDERICK COBET . I am a translator of foreign languages, and live in London. On the 10th of February, the prisoners, Willes and Cunningham, came to me—I was ill in bed at the time—they called to know whether I could assist them in getting a couple of bills discounted—Cuningham produced two bills from his pocket, rolled up, and in a crumpled state—I said, "What a pity you should keep them in that negligent, careless kind of way, for if the bills are ever so good, it throws a damper on them in introducing them in a respectable channel"—the remark was made that a hot iron would make it all right—to the best of my belief Willes said that—I copied both the bills, and have the copies here, which I took at the time—it is not a literal translation—the first is (reading) "Madeira, 6th December, 1841, due February 20th, 1842. 30 days sight; first of exchange. Gordon, Duff, and Co. Order, Capt. Thompson, in full of my passage money hence to Demerara, Charles Heath. Drawn on Barton, Hasleham, and Higgins, Liverpool. Accepted, 18th January, 1842. Payable at Dennisons' and Co., London. Signed, Barton, Hasleham, and Higgins, 24l."—the other bill is for 25l. 10s. 4d., dated "Madeira, 8th December, 1841, accepted by James King, Esq., Bristol; due, 20th February, 1842. Accepted 18th January. 30 days sight, and payable at Robarts, Curtis, and Co."—I noticed that the last bill was endorsed to Mr. Ruffy—having examined the bills, I said on the first bill, according to the Continental laws, with which I was acquainted, there was an irregularity—the endorsement of Gordon, Duff, and Co. preceded, instead of followed, the endorsement of Thompson, and I remarked that, according to the Continental laws, that would vitiate the transfer, but I was not sufficiently acquainted with the laws of England to know whether it would have the same effect in this country, nevertheless I considered it an irregularity—I explained that to them, and I believe Cunningham said, "Well, I thought it was all right, Willes knows enough about bills to say they are all right," and I believe he told me at the time that he himself knew little about bills—I saw nothing wrong in the second bill—I saw it was specially endorsed to J. Ruffy Esq., and asked Cunningham whether his name was Ruffy—he said "No"—I asked whether he was the holder of the bill—he said "Yes"—I said "How does it happen then that that name is deficient?"—I made then remark to both the parties that the endorsement was special, and the name was deficient—Cunningham said it did not matter, it could be got—there was mention made of there being a third bill in existence—I could not take on myself to recollect who said that—they said the amount of the other bill was 50l. odd, I understood, but I have not seen that bill—they said they had such a bill, but not with them—I desired them to let me see the other bill, because from the irregularities I perceived on this bill, I did not like to make my mind up as to the appearance, or the nature of the suspicious circumstance—they then left me—next day, Cunningham came to me

342

Maureen Withey on 16th October 2022

Tasmanian Conduct Record. https://stors.tas.gov.au/CON33-1-30$init=CON33-1-30P38 7110. William Clarke. Tried C.C.C. 28 Feb 1842, 15 years. Transported for burglary. Silk weaver. Age 32. Married with 3 children, wife Mary. Native place, Bethnal Green. See record for details. He was tried with William Smart, 15 years, Lee Cunningham, Geo. Lloyd, Robert Wells & ? Davis for same offence. All drowned.