Charles Goodwin

135

C H on 16th February 2024

Old Bailey Online CHARLES GOODWIN. Theft; theft from a specified place. 2nd January 1834. Text type Trial account Defendants CHARLES GOODWIN Offences Theft > Theft from place Session Date 2nd January 1834 Reference Number t18340102-3 Verdicts Guilty Punishments Transportation Before Mr. Justice Gaselee. 184. CHARLES GOODWIN was indicted for stealing on the 25th of November , at St. John, at Hackney, one 20l. and one 10l. Bank note, the property of John Robert Daniel Tyssen , in his dwelling house . MR. WALESBY conducted the prosecution. JOHN ROBERT DANIEL TYSSEN . I live in Warwick-road, Upper Clapton , in the parish of St. John, at Hackney. The prisoner was in my father's employ, as footman, in November last - my father came to visit me about the 14th or 15th of November, I know he was there on the 17th - the prisoner was there with him during the whole time my father was there - he was in the house as footman - he brushed my clothes and cleaned my boots - sometimes he came to my bed-room for my clothes, and sometimes the maid-servant came for them - On Sunday, the 19th, Mr. Keily paid me a 20l. note and a 10l. Bank note - I put them into my pocket without looking at them, as he paid them to me in the road - I did not return home for an hour or two - I had no other notes in my pocket; when I went up stairs to dress for dinner, I looked at the notes, and observed it was a 20l. and a 10l. note - I put them into my trousers pocket - I wore the trousers until I went to bed, with the money in my pocket - this was on the 17th - I gave the notes to my sister that evening, and she returned them to me on the following Sunday, the 25th - I did not open the parcel, but they were in the same state as when I gave them to her, they were wrapped up very small - I put them in my waistcoat pocket, and when I went up to dress for dinner, I changed my waistcoat, and am not certain whether I took the notes out of the waistcoat pocket, and put them in another or not - I don't know whether I afterwards had them about my person, or had left them in the pocket - next morning, between ten and eleven o'clock, upon a clerk coming to the office, I missed the notes and made inquiry: on the Thursday following, I caused further inquiry to be made - I went to the Bank on the Monday week following, on receiving a notice from the Bank - I had stopped payment of the notes - I afterwards went down to Maidstone and saw Myers there, and after that went to my father's house, which is in the parish of Maidstone, at Pennington heath - I took a 10l. note and a letter to my father's house, which I had from the Bank - I could not recognise the note myself - I saw the prisoner at my father's in the butler's pantry - I asked him to step into the servants' hall, and there I charged him with having changed that 10l. note (which I produced) with Mr. Myers, and receiving ten sovereigns for it - Myers keeps a shop at Maidstone - I asked the prisoner where he got the note from - he said, "It is mine" - I repeated the question, telling him to be cautious what he said, and he repeated, "It is mine." MR. DOANE (for the Prisoner). Q. Did you make any sort of promise or inducement to him? A.Certainly not - I did not say I would forgive him, or that it would be better for him - I did not say he had better tell me all about it, nor anything of the kind - I did not say I would forgive him if he would tell me all about it, nor anything of the kind. MR. WALESBY. Q. What did he say? A. He then said, "I found it in the hall of your house," alluding to Clapton - I then scolded him for having changed the note, saying, it was very curious for a servant to find a note in a house and not mention it, and I asked him what he had done with the money; he said he had spent part of and said he would make it up out of his wages - I told him the money was of very little consequence, it was more important to make out who had taken it - I then asked him if he found anything else; he said, nothing - I told him to be very cautious what he said, as he must be aware, from the trouble I had taken in coming down from London, I must be aware of more than he thought of - I told him he did not tell me the truth, for where he found the 10l. there he must have found the 20l., for they were both wrapped up together; there was some little hesitation, and I threatened that I would send for a constable if he did not tell the truth; unless he produced the 20l. or told the truth about it; he then said, he had found them, or the notes, or similar words to that - I asked him what he had found - he said a 20l. note - I asked him where it was - he said it was up stairs, and he would go and get it - I said, "No you won't, John, I will go with you;" I desired him to go first, and I would follow him - I got up to his bed-room within two or three minutes after this conversation - I went into his bed-room, it was about half-past seven o'clock at night; when I got into his room, the candle was out - I met him in the room - I brought a light with me, and I asked him if he had found it - he said, "No;" he was then searching the pockets of the clothes in his drawers, and, after some little time, he pulled out a small piece of paper from a pocket, and inside that paper was this 20l. note, which I produce - I could not at that time recognise it as the one I had lost - I told him he could not possibly be allowed to remain in my father's service, and he had better give notice to leave that day month - I told him I would not tell anybody about it that night - I subsequently had him apprehended; he did not continue in my father's service; he was had before my father the next morning, and Mr. Bean, the clerk at Maidstone; he was desired to go to the Mayor, to clear himself, and he went out of the house and ran away; this was on the Wednesday, 12th or 13th of December, it was the day after I went down - I went before the Mayor, and search was made after him - I saw him at Worship-street, on a Monday, in custody of a turnkey of Canterbury gaol. My father continued on his visit at my house with the prisoner till the Wednesday morning - I had lost them on Monday, but did not quite ascertain the loss till the Thursday. Cross-examined by MR. DOANE. Q. It was in consequence of your having said, unless he told the truth, and produced the note, you would have a constable, that he produced the 20l. note? A. Yes; I threatened to fetch a constable, and soon afterwards he produced the note; when he produced it I had no idea of having him taken into custody, not at the time; nor would I wish to prosecute him now if I could avoid it - I am an unwilling prosecutor; my object was to get rid of the business - I carried the notes rather carelessly about my person; it was not the business of all the servants to go up to my bed-room - I had an idea that I missed the notes on the Monday morning, but I fully ascertained the loss on Thursday, as I had an idea I might have paid them to a gentleman who was gone from town, and he returned on Thursday; it is possible I might have dropped them in the hall, but it is not very probable. MR. WALESBY. Q.You missed them on Monday morning? A. Yes. GEORGE MYERS. I am a pawnbroker living at Maidstone - on the 29th of November the prisoner came to my shop to change a £10 note (looking at one), this is my handwriting - it has "Goodwin, at Tyssen's Esq., Pennington heath," on it - I did not know the prisoner, but that was the name he gave me - I gave him ten sovereigns for the note - my brother afterwards paid the note away - Mr. Tyssen, jun. brought it to the shop about a week afterwards and showed it to me. Cross-examined. Q. He gave you his correct address and name? A. I don't know whether that is his name or not. REV. MICHAEL WEBB KEILY. I am a clergyman, and live at Upper Homerton - I recollect on the 16th of November last going to Barclay's bank, having a cheque on them for £100, dated on the 14th of November, given to me by John Clark Powell , the drawer - he is treasurer to the Hackney Church of England Grammar School - I produced the cheque at Barclay's, and received three £20 and four £10 Bank of England notes - I saw Mr. Tyssen the following day, which was Sunday the 17th - he was just coming out of his house and I was going up to see him - I gave him a £20 and a £10 note which I had received at Barclay's - I have the other two £20 notes in my possession now (producing them), I have paid away the three £10 notes - on the 28th of November Mr. Tyssen sent his clerk to my house to know the numbers and dates of the notes - I had at that time two £20 and two £10 notes in my possession - I gave Mr. Tysson's clerk at that time a memorandum of the notes I had left; he is here to-day - I do not know the numbers and dates of the notes I paid to Mr. Tyssen, but I received them at Barclay's with the others. Cross-examined. Q. Had you any other notes in your possession? A.No. JAMES BARNES. I am a clerk at Messrs. Barclay's banking house, Lombard-street - on the 16th of November last I paid a cheque for £100, here is the entry in my book in my own handwriting, and made at the time - I find I paid a cheque of £100, drawn by Powell, as treasurer of the Hackney Church of England Grammar School, with three £20 and four £10 notes - the numbers are entered, but not the dates - the £20 notes are 15485, 5890, 19763 - when we pay cheques we only enter the numbers, but when the notes come into the house, we enter the dates, and I have ascertained the dates from that first entry - the £10 notes were Nos. 4761, 4762, 18407, 18406 (looking at the £20 note found in the prisoners pocket,) the number of this is 15484 - this £10 note is 18406 - I see on the back of the £10 note the figures 10 and 11 in the handwriting of one of our clerks - I know the handwriting - the other two £20 notes correspond. THOMAS TAYLOR. I am principal turnkey of Canterbury gaol - the prisoner was brought to me from Dover, I brought him to London - I took him to Worship-street, and delivered him to Garton. MR. TYSSEN re-examined. My house is in the parish of St. John, at Hackney. Prisoner's Defence. I heard nothing of the loss of the notes till the prosecutor came down to me - I changed the £10 note, and gave him up the £20 - he said if I picked them up he would forgive me, which I did - he said he should not name it to his father, but I had better give a month's warning and leave, as he should not like me to come to his house again, as he should always be uncomfortable if I was there - I had picked them up in the hall - he said nobody knew he had lost them but his sister - I told him I would make up the remainder - he said he would forgive me and not name it to his father if I gave notice to leave; but next morning he named it to his father, who spoke to the magistrate to detain me; and being a stranger and having no one to defend me, I went to Dover, where I had friends, and was taken. THOMAS TAYLOR re-examined. He was delivered into my custody on Saturday night, December 14th. MR. TYSSEN. I have known him about four months while in my father's service; his brother was in my father's service before - my father had an excellent character with him from a lady at Dover - he had been with some person two years and a half; whether it was that lady or a gentlman at Ramsgate I don't know. JURY. Q.After you missed the money, and made inquiry about it, do you know whether the prisoner knew the inquiry was made? A. He could not know of it - I merely mentioned it to my father's clerk - it is possible he might have heard that I lost them, after the Thursday, as I caused bills to be posted about the parish - the hand-bills were posted on the Tuesday week after the loss; and I advertised it in the Times and Herald. GEORGE MYERS. He paid me the £10 note on the Friday. GUILTY . Aged 24. - Transported for Life .