John Griffin

135

C H on 25th March 2024

Old Bailey Online JOHN GRIFFIN. Theft; simple larceny (from 1827). 11th April 1833. Text type Trial account Defendants JOHN GRIFFIN Offences Theft > Simple larceny Session Date 11th April 1833 Reference Number t18330411-182 Verdicts Guilty Punishments Transportation 853. JOHN GRIFFIN was indicted for stealing, on the 22nd of March , 2 morocco cases, value 1l.; 2 necklaces, value 100l., and 2 pair of ear-rings, value 50l., the goods of Thomas Abbott Green , and another . SECOND COUNT, stating them to be the goods of John Morris . MR. CLARKSON conducted the prosecution. JOHN MORRIS . I am in the employ of Mr. Thomas Abbott Green and George Ward - they are goldsmiths and jewellers . On Friday, the 22nd of March, I took some articles to the Duke of Hamilton's, No. 12, Portman-square; I left my employer's shop about twenty minutes past twelve o'clock - a coach was called from the stand in the Haymarket, it was No. 783, of which the prisoner was the driver - it drove up to our door in Cockspur-street, and four parcels were put into it, three of them were plate, and plated goods, and the fourth was jewellery; among other things, there were two emerald and gold-coloured suits of necklaces and ear-rings, worth upwards of 150l.; I desired the prisoner to drive to No. 12, Portman-square , and he did so; when I got there, I gave out the first parcel to the porter, who took it into the hall - he then returned for the second parcel, on which stood the brown paper parcel of jewellery, which I removed, and put on the seat, not intending that it should go out of my sight; the porter then took the second parcel into the hall; the third parcel consisted of a dish and stand - I took hold of it with my left hand, to take it in, but the dish not having a handle it came up from the stand; I put my hand to it, by which means my attention was drawn off from the brown paper parcel; I turned short round, took the dish and stand into the house, and left the brown paper parcel on the seat of the coach; I did not see it remaining there, or I should not have left it behind me; I went into the house, and deposited the dish and stand, and that and the other two parcels were all taken into a back room; I then went out, and paid the coachman - the coach door was then shut, and I noticed the number, which was directly opposite to me as I went down the steps; I then paid the coachman his fare, which was 2s.; I perfectly recollect his person - I then returned to the house, to ask at what hour on the morrow I could see the party I wanted to see, and was told at twelve o'clock; I then said I had left another parcel in the room - the servant said, "No, you have not;" I said, "Then I have left it in the coach" - he said,"Yes, you have;" I then remembered that I had not brought it out; I proceeded to the coach-stand in Oxford-street, as fast as I could run; I went down on the east side of Portman-square, and down Orchard-street - the coach-stand in Oxford-street was quite full of coaches and cabs; I looked towards Tyburn, and at that moment there was neither coach, cab, omnibus, nor vehicle of any kind, as far as the eye could see - No. 783 was not on the coach-stand; I then went down to the stand below Orchard-street, towards Manchester-square; the coach was not there - I then returned up Oxford-street, crossed Portman-square and Berkeley-square, and went to the stand in Adam-street; the coach was not there - I had noticed that it was lined with dark blue; in my judgment the prisoner could not have gone to the stand, taken a fare, and driven off to Bayswater, without my seeing him - I should think it impossible; I should think it was not two minutes before I got there - I will swear it was not three minutes; there is a clock in Oxford-street, about six doors from the corner of Orchard-street - as I could not find him nor the coach I went to the stamp-office; I there learnt who was the master of the coach, and that he lived in Greycoat-yard, Westminster - I went there, and saw a man in the yard; I stated that I had left a parcel in a coach, and I wanted to see the prisoner - I was appointed to go the next morning, about eight o'clock; I went alone, about half-past eight - I was told he was not come; I then appointed to go on the Sunday morning, but I went again with Shackell on the Saturday evening, between four and five o'clock - he was not there; I went on the Sunday morning, but I did not see him then, nor did I see him till he was brought by Shackell, on the Tuesday, to my lodgings, in Queen-street, Soho-square, between nine and ten o'clock at night- he denied all knowledge of the parcel; I told him that was quite impossible, as it was left in his coach, and it was not likely he should shut up his coach-door in the middle of the day and not see the parcel on the seat, for when he shut the door his nose must have been within six inches of it - he said he had not seen it; I said, "The best thing you can do is to take it to Somerset-house, and get the reward, and prove yourself an honest man" - he made no answer, but that he was innocent; I told Shackell he had better let him go, and in all probability he would prove himself an honest man, and take the parcel. Cross-examined by MR. PHILLIPS . Q. You told him to let him go? A. Yes, because the fourth day had not elapsed; the officer let him go, and he was taken again on the Thursday, I think; he had Wednesday to have escaped - the parcel was rather more than a foot long, six or seven inches broad, and five or six inches deep - it was an object of considerable consequence to me, but I totally forgot it; it went out of my sight and out of my memory at the same time - I had been thinking of it a second before, because I had it in my hand to remove it; I had been in the house three or four minutes to deposit the other things - I had four parcels in all; the first was a parcel of silver, which the servant took in; the second was plated goods, the third was the dish and stand, which I took in, thinking it was the last parcel: and when I came out to pay the prisoner, to the best of my recollection he was standing by the coach-wheel - the servant who took the parcels in is not here, but another servant is; it was the hall-porter who carried them in; he was the only servant who came out of the door - the other servant did not come to the door, he was looking through the window; I noticed the number of the coach when I went out to pay the fare, because as I walked down the steps it was just before me - my employers were very angry at the loss of their property; I believe the Orchard-street stand is the last coach-stand in Oxford-street - there was no coach to be seen; it is a great thoroughfare - I thought the prisoner had robbed me when Shackell brought him to me; but I desired him to let him go, as I had been advised at the station, to give him the four days to return the property - I mentioned to the prisoner what the reward was, which was 20l. - he never denied that he had driven the coach; I shall have to make the property good to my master. WILLIAM GRIFFITH . I am a servant to the Duke of Hamilton. The porter, Robert Stothard , is very ill - the Earl and Countess of Lincoln were at the Duke's house in Portman-square at the time this happened, and they are there now; I was at the hall window, in conversation with the porter, when the coach drove to the door - the porter opened it; I did not leave the window till the parcels were deposited in the hall - I saw the parcel placed on the front seat of the coach when Mr. Morris brought the third parcel into the house, and I saw the coach door shut; I did not know whether the other parcel was intended for the Duke or not. Cross-examined. Q. Did you see Morris discharge the coach? A. Yes, but at that moment it did not occur to me about the other parcel, though I had seen it in the coach. MR. CLARKSON. Q. Did you see Mr. Morris return from the back room to the hall? A. Yes, and then I said, "You have left one parcel in the coach." COURT. Q.You say you saw him put the parcel on the front seat of the coach? A. Yes, but I could not see it on the seat - it was near the pavement, and the door being closed I could not see it - I saw him put it on the front seat with his left hand, and I am quite sure he left it in the coach. JOSEPH SHACKELL (Police-constable A 10). I was applied to by Mr. Morris, and on the Saturday I went with him to Grey Coat-yard - we inquired for the prisoner, but were unable to find him - I inquired where he lived, and in consequence of what I heard, I went to No. 17, Moon-street, Bryanstone-square, and they sent for the prisoner; this was on Sunday, about five or six o'clock in the afternoon - I said to him, "Is your name Griffin ?" he said Yes - I said, "Do you recollect driving a fare from the Haymarket stand, to No. 12, Portman-square? it is of no use your hesitating, I am sure you do;" he said, "Well, I know I did;" I said, "I want a brown paper parcel that was left in your coach;" he said, "I know nothing of the parcel;" I then said,"What was the next job you took up;" he said he did not know - I said, "You can't have forgotten it in so short a time;" he then told me he left a gentleman at No. 12, Portman-square, and then drove to the stand, at the corner of Orchard-street, and he had hardly got on the rank, before a lady and two children called him, and he had driven them to the Black Lion-gate, Bayswater; I asked him if he knew who the lady was - he said he did not, but the ostler at the Black Lion would no doubt know, and if I would allow him, he would go down to Bayswater-gate, see the ostler, and come to me the next morning - I said very well, and appointed to meet him the next morning at nine o'clock, at a coffee-shop, at the corner of Charles-street, in the Haymarket, where he was to let me know who this lady was - I agreed to his going, because I thought he seemed to wish to go by himself, and I thought by doing so the parcel might be forthcoming; I went to the coffee-room the next morning - he came at twenty minutes past nine o'clock, and said he had been to Bayswater and seen the ostler, and that it was a lady, who kept a tobacconist's shop at Kensington Gravel-pits - I asked him why he did not go to the lady and get the parcel; he said he thought I could get it back better than he could - if I would go down with him, he said he would take me down to the ostler; we went there, and he told me to go into the parlour, and he would go and see the ostler; he brought Wheatley into the parlour to me and said, "This is the ostler;" I said to Wheatley."Who is this lady?" he said, "From the description, I think it is Mrs. Ince, No. 69, Westbourne-terrace;" I asked the prisoner how he came to tell me it was a tobacconist, at Kensington Gravel-pits; he said that was a mistake - he had been gone about five minutes before he came back with the ostler; I then went with the prisoner to Mrs. Ince - the ostler said from the description the prisoner had given him it was Mrs. Ince - Mrs. Ince is not here, but she denied it before the prisoner's face - she said she had not been in his coach, she had come down that day, but it was in an omnibus - there was a young lady coming out of the parlour at the time, and the prisoner said, "That is just the size of a young lady who came down with you;" Mrs. Ince said she had not been in town at all that day, that she had come down with one of her daughters, but not her - I then said to the prisoner,"Can you swear to Mrs. Ince as coming down in your coach?" he said, "No, I can't;" we then made every inquiry to find a person who had come down, and the next day we distributed 1500 hand-bills to every house, and also some other bills, offering 10l. reward - the prisoner said he could take me to the spot from where he brought the lady; he went with me, and waited at every door while I went in and inquired - he said he thought they came out of a shop near the clock, a few doors from Orchard-street; I asked him where the waterman was who put the parties into the coach - he said there was no one nigh him; I said, "Then it is of no use my asking the question;" he said, "No, it is not - I got off my coach-box, let them in, shut the door, and drove off;" I then let him go, and the next day I saw him again; I told him to make every possible inquiry - that we had distributed 1500 bills and 500 small ones, and if he knew any thing about it he had better take it to Somerset-house. Cross-examined. Q. What day did you go to Bayswater? A. On Monday, the robbery was on Friday; he did not affect to point out the precise house out of which the lady came - he said it was a lady and two children, and he put them down at the turnpike-gate; it was the ostler who said, from the description, he thought Mrs. Ince must be the lady - the prisoner did not assert that she was - he said he could not swear to her; I did not take the prisoner into custody till the following Thursday, when he was on the stand near Portman-square, talking to some watermen. COURT. Q. Have you the prisoner's master here? A. No, he said he did not employ him as a hackneyman, and he should not attend; I was obliged to go twice to get him to the office. RICHARD WHEATLEY . I have been ostler at the Black Lion, at Bayswater, for fourteen years; I have known the prisoner, by sight, about twelve months. On Friday, the 22nd of March, I had leave of absence from my master - I left home about ten o'clock in the morning, and did not return till between three and four - I did not see the prisoner nor his coach that day; on Monday morning, the 25th, he came down with the officer - the officer went into the parlour - I was on the opposite side, washing a coach; the prisoner came to me (I had not seen him for three or four weeks before), and he said there had been a parcel lost in his coach, and there was a shilling or two, or a pound or two, to be got - he said he had brought a short stout lady, dressed in black, and two children, down to Bayswater, and he mentioned the day; I said I was not at home at all that day - I then went into the parlour, and told him I did not know any one of the description he had given, except Mrs. Ince, No. 69, Westbourne-terrace; he said he had been accused for the parcel lost in his coach; I went into the parlour, because he said a gentleman there wanted to see me - he told me to say that the lady kept a tobacconist's shop, or something of that sort, and I told him I could not say any thing of the kind, as I was not at home; he then told me to come into the parlour and have a glass of beer - he told me to say I was at home, and watered the horses and fed them. Cross-examined. Q. Of course, when you went into the parlour, and found the officer, he confirmed what the coachman had told you, that there was a valuable parcel lost? A. He did not say it was valuable - he said there was a parcel lost; the officer had not his uniform on, but he told me at last that he was an officer - I did not tell him what the prisoner had desired me to say, but I told him of it one night afterwards - I think it was a week after, or it might be more - it was on a Monday night; I did not like to say any thing to him at the time - I was in a hurry, and wanted to get my coach done; I was in the parlour about five minutes - I had time to have told him; I told him the rest that the prisoner had said about the stout lady and two children. Q. Upon your oath, if you told him about the short lady and two children, why did you not at the same time tell him that the prisoner wanted you to say you were at home, and you were not? A. I did not like to say any thing to him - that was my reason; I wanted to get my coach done, because my master had been blowing me up about it - that was my reason; I told the officer afterwards. Q. In the mean time had there not been a reward offered about the neighbourhood? A. Yes, I think 10l. was the first reward and 20l. the second; I think they brought the bills down on the Tuesday, the day after I had been in the parlour with the officer; I did not mention to any one that the prisoner wanted me to say I was at home till after the rewards were offered - I do not expect a reward - it is for getting the parcel; I told the gentleman to clear myself, because the prisoner said I was at home, and my master knew that I was not. Q. Upon your oath, was not what the prisoner said to you, that a parcel was alleged to have been lost out of his coach, that it would be a shilling or two, or perhaps a pound in any man's way, that could discover the parcel, and did he not beg of you to do your best to assist him. A. Yes. COURT to JOSEPH SHACKELL . Q. When did Wheatley first tell you that the prisoner had desired him to say that the lady kept a to bacconist's shop or something of that sort? A. On Easter-Monday I had gone down to make every inquiry I could, and Wheatley told it me all at once; he had heard me tell the prisoner in the parlour, that he had mentioned a tobacconist's shop at the Gravel-pits to me. The bills were here put in and read - one offering a reward of 20l. for the property, the other requesting the lady which the prisoner said had taken the coach, to come forward. GUILTY .* Aged 34. - Transported for Seven Years .