Joseph Cook

135

C H on 15th February 2024

Old Bailey Online JAMES BUTCHER. JOSEPH COOK. FREDERICK HUNT. Theft; theft from a specified place, Theft; receiving, Miscellaneous; perverting justice. 6th January 1831. Text type Trial account Defendants JAMES BUTCHER, JOSEPH COOK, FREDERICK HUNT Offences Theft > Theft from place, Theft > Receiving, Miscellaneous > Perverting justice Session Date 6th January 1831 Reference Number t18310106-5 Verdicts Guilty > With recommendation, Guilty, Guilty Punishments Death, Transportation Third Middlesex Jury, before Lord Chief Baron Alexander. 277. JAMES BUTCHER was indicted for stealing, on the 12th of November , at St. Margaret, Westminster, 1 watch, value 5l.; 5 rings, value 15l.; 1 pair of ear-rings, value 1l.; 3 brooches, value 3l.; 1 neck-chain, value 5l., and 1 gold pin, value 10s., the goods of William Fuller Pocock ; 2 bonds, value 100l. each, and 1 promissory note, value 200l., the property of the said William Fuller Pocock, in his dwelling-house ; and JOSEPH COOK and FREDERICK HUNT were indicted for feloniously receiving, on the same day, at the same parish, the goods, bonds, and note aforesaid, well knowing them to have been stolen ; against the Statute. 2nd COUNT, the same as the first. 3rd COUNT, that the said Joseph Cook and Frederick Hunt, after the felony aforesaid was done and committed, in form aforesaid, feloniously did receive, harbour, and maintain the said James Butcher , they well knowing him to have done and committed the said last mentioned felony . MR. PRENDERGAST conducted the prosecution. WILLIAM FULLER POCOCK. I am an architect , and live in the parish of St. Margaret, Westminster . The prisoner Butcher was my livery servant - I had gone out of town the beginning of November, came to town on the 12th of that month, and found Butcher had absconded; next morning Mrs. Pocock missed some property - I made no particular search at that time, but afterwards in consequence of what Mr. Wilson said to me, I went home, examined my iron safe, and missed two India-bonds, each of the value of 100l., and a promissory note for 200l.; the key of the iron-safe was still in the drawer where it is usually kept - I remember the prisoner Hunt being on my premises about twelve months ago; he was found in the hay-loft, where my man-servant slept. MRS. FANNY POCOCK . I was out of town with Mr. Pocock - I returned on the 12th of November, and next day I went to look for a key, which I missed; I missed my jewellery out of a small basket, in a small drawer in my bed-room - the basket was empty; I missed from it a gold watch, a neck-chain, a diamond ring, three brooches, a garnet ring, one ear-ring, and two other rings -I kept the key of thed rawer in my pocket, and had it with me; I had seen all the property about three weeks before- I had been at our country cottage since June, but came up occasionally, and saw them safe the last time I came to town; I knew Butcher was gone before I looked into the drawer. WILLIAM WEBB . I am a stock-broker. On the 2nd of April, 1830, I bought four India-bonds of 100l. each for Mr. Pocock; I only know the numbers of them by a copy of an entry which I have here - I do not recollect whether the original entry was made by myself; I remember purchasing four bonds for him. MR. POCOCK. Here is the bill which I received with the bonds - it contains the numbers of them; it is the original bill, signed by the broker - I examined it with the bonds, and know the numbers are correct; they are D. 8927, D. 18,671, D. 9068, E. 5152; I sold the latter end of June D. 8927 and D. 9068, and kept the other two - I missed them on my return to town. HENRY VICARY WILSON . I am a clerk to Messrs. Hammersley. I cannot swear with certainty to Butcher's person - I have a strong impression that he is the person, from the circumstances connected with the matter, (not from his appearance to-day,) and from his countenance I think him to be the same man who called one morning at our banking-house; I do not know when it was, but as near as I can recollect it was about six weeks since - he handed me over a bill for 200l.; I cannot say whether it was a promissory note or bill of exchange, it was done in such a hurry; I think it was a note, but cannot speak positively - he had also two India-bonds; he handed the note to me and said, "I have brought this from Mr. Pocock;" I immediately looked at it, and perceived that it wanted Mr. Pocock's endorsement; I said, "You must take it back to your master, and tell him it requires his signature at the back;" he then handed me the two India-bonds, and said, "I want the money for these;" I said, "You must leave these for us to see the interest on them, and take the note back to get your master's endorsement;" he said, "Oh, I must take them all back;" he was then leaving the counter - I called after him, and said, "You understand what I have said," and I think he said Yes - he took them away with him immediately; I do not know the numbers of the bonds. GEORGE COLLARD . I am a clerk in the transfer-office at the India-house. I cannot swear to the prisoner - a person called on me with some India-bonds, between eleven and twelve o'clock on the 12th of November; he wore a livery, but I cannot recollect what sort - he had the appearance of a gentleman's servant - I think it was brown, with some blue about it; I asked what he wanted - he handed me two India-bonds, and said, "I want the money for these;" I looked at them, and said "There is six months' interest on them, I can give you that;" he said, "No, I want the money - master has sent me to receive them, and take up a bill;" I said; "You must be under some mistake - this is not the place for the money;" I recommended him to go back to his master - he said he had not time, he must take up the bill: he pulled out his pocket-book, and put a paper into my hand, which had the appearance of a bill or something - it had a stamp on it; I asked who his master was; he said Mr. Pocock, of Trevor-terrace, Kensington - he said he could not go back to his master; I said, "I will send you to a gentleman at the Stock Exchange, who will negociate these bonds for you;" I sent him to Mr. Edward Mortimer ; I did not endorse the bonds for the interest - it is not necessary to have them endorsed before they can be transferred; it is usually done- he came back in about half an hour, and presented the bonds, with a paper which I had given him, with Mr. Mortimer's address on it, and he requested to have the interest endorsed; a message was written on the paper, to have the interest endorsed - I handed the bonds to a junior clerk, who endorsed them; I chequed them, and then the party goes to our treasury, and receives them - the numbers are taken there with a receipt, and the party takes the bonds to the treasury, and leaves the receipt with the company; the receipt is not here; I took no account of the numbers myself - I have a memorandum of the numbers, which I took from another memorandum I had before made, and which was taken from the original entry in my own handwriting; the man received the interest that was due, and left the office; he signed the receipt - I told him in what form to sign it, to say received for Mr. Pocock, and to put his master's address. CHARLES SMITH MORTIMER . I assist my uncle, Mr. Edward Mortimer , a stock-broker. On the 12th of November I remember the prisoner Butcher bringing two India-bonds; he said he wanted the money for them - I looked at them, and saw the interest was not made up; he had a slip of paper, with our direction on it - I wrote on it that the interest must be made up, and told him to take that paper to the India-house; he left our office, returned in about an hour with the bonds, and said he wanted the money - I asked his master's name, and he said Pocock; I then asked his Christian name - he said W. F. Pocock, and so I made out the note: we then sold the bonds - I entered the numbers myself from the bonds; I have not the book here, but know the numbers without the book, I have looked at the entry so often on purpose - I am sure I can swear to the numbers quite independent of any book; they were D. 18,671 and E. 5152 - I asked him his master's banker, and he told me Hammersley; I drew a draft for 203l. 1s. 11d., wrote their name across it, and said, "Take that to your master's bankers, and they will get it cashed for you;" I told him nobody but Hammersley's could receive it - he said he wanted the money, for he had a bill to take up in his way back, and he took out a bill or note; it appeared a piece of stamped paper, which I did not much notice - he said he was much after his time; I then tore up the cheque, and gave him another not crossed, on our bankers, Willis and Co. - I told him to be careful of the money - I gave him a note of the sale: he was dressed as a livery servant, some part of his dress was rather a light blue. WILLIAM PEARCE . I have been in the army, and am chief of the Police at Clonmell. On the 25th of November the three prisoners came to the Mail-coach hotel, at Clonmell, at which I reside; they were each armed with a fowling-piece, which induced me to have them apprehended; I found on Butcher this pocket-book, a gold chain, a diamond ring, a gold breast pin, a brooch, a silver watch, and 44l. 1s. in money: on Cook, who first gave his name as Hunt, and afterwards as Cook, I found a broken brooch, a silver watch, a gunpowder-born and shot-pouch, and 40l.; on Hunt I found a gunpowder-born, a shotpouch, and 45l. 7s.; I traced the gold watch to a watchmaker's shop in Clonmell - the shopkeeper brought it to me, and, in the presence of the prisoners, stated it to have been delivered to him to be cleaned, by Hunt, who admitted that he had given it to him, and Butcher afterwards said it was his property - I produce it: the prisoners at first told me they were three brothers, and that their names were Hunt - they all three stated that to be the case; they were examined separately, in the presence of the Mayor, and what they said was taken in writing, but when they were not before the Mayor, Butcher admitted to me that he had given a wrong name, and that he had taken money from his master in England; I did not hold out either threat or promise to him - he said he had robbed his master and divided the property with his companions, (they were not present) and that he had come over to Ireland to get out of the way - the others said nothing, except in the Mayor's presence. GEORGE COLLARD re-examined. I have now got the receipt which I gave the man, who I think is the prisoner - it has the numbers of the bonds on it, chequed by me -(read.) Received the sum of 3l., being six months' interest on 200l. on bonds, D. 18,671 and E. 5152, G. Collard, 13th. November, 1830, endorsed, "Received for W. F. Pocock, 10, Trevorterrace, Knightsbridge, James Page . MR. COLLARD. Seeing he was unacquainted with the business, I told him it was necessary to put his name to the reciept, and I wrote on the back "Received for," and said, "Put your own name, your master's name and address on it, and they will pay you at the treasury;" he signed it in my presence, before he took it to the treasury - I cannot swear the prisoner is the man, but think so. WILLIAM HALL . I am an officer of Queen-square. In consequence of directions I went to Ireland, and received the prisoners in charge on the 11th of December, at Clonmell gaol - I had received some ear-rings, a gold watch, a brooch, and a broken brooch, a ring, and some other things from the Mayor the day before; I told them, on the 11th what I had received, and that I had seen some silver watches - I neither threatened nor promised them any thing; Butcher said the gold watch and the silver ones they had tossed up for which should have which, and it fell to the lot of Cooke to have the gold one - they were all present when he said this; they said they had some money left - that every one had had his share regularly out, and the constable had taken it away from them; Butcher said "It was my mistress' gold watch, and her rings and brooches, and I did not mean to part with them till we had sold every thing - I meant to keep them till the last;" he said he had sold two bonds to somebody in London - he did not know his name, but it was somewhere near the Bank, and that the money was got by those bonds - that he sold them for 203l. 1s. 11d., and that the other two prisoners stopped over the way while he went and sold the bonds; they were altogether when he made this statement, and I am sure the other two heard him say they were waiting over the way while he went to sell them - they said they were there, and waited till he had got the money, and then they all three went down to Deptford together; Hunt said this first, and then Butcher said when they got the money they all went to Deptford together, and Cook confirmed that account - I distinctly heard that; Butcher said the money was shared out, and they went to Deptford - the other two said they had the share of the money: they said so one after the other, and that they went to Deptford, from there to Gravesend, then to Chatham, and back to Gravesend again - there they all bought clothes alike, and then they went on board the Shannon steam-boat, which took them to Falmouth, and from there to Dublin, (in another conveyance, I believe, but they did not say that;) Butcher said they bought three guns at Dublin, and gave 5l. each for them, and from Dublin they went to Clonmell - this was said in the presence of the others; they did not deny any part of the statement. Cook. We never went ashore at Falmouth - we were not present when he said how we shared the money. Witness. They were handcuffed altogether at the time. MR. POCOCK. This is my pocket-book - this diamond ring, gold watch and pin I can swear to. MRS. POCOCK. I know the ear-rings and this watch are mine; this pearl brooch, gold chain, two brooches, and a broken brooch are mine - it was not broken when taken - all these things were in the basket in the drawer; I am rather uncertain whether the cornelian brooch was in the basket - the house is our dwelling-house; we live there. BUTCHER - GUILTY - DEATH . Aged 18. Recommended to Mercy by the Prosecutor . COOK - GUILTY . Aged 17. HUNT - GUILTY . Aged 18. On the 2nd Count. Transported for Fourteen Years .[Jan. 8.]