William James

342

Maureen Withey on 7th April 2026

Leviathan Hulk Records. HO-9-8_6 page 10/54. Received from Newgate, 16 Feb 1830. Wm James, age 22, Felony, Tried 3 Dec 1829, Old Bailey, Life, To NSW 26 June 1830, R. Admiral. Tried at the Old Bailey, 3 Dec 1829. Before Mr. Justice Littledale. First Middlesex Jury - Before Mr. Justice Littledale. 2. WILLIAM JAMES was indicted for feloniously and burglariously breaking and entering the dwelling-house of Joseph Delaney , at St. James, Westminster, about the hour of four in the night of the 2nd of November , with intent to steal the goods and chattels therein . JOSEPH DELANEY. I keep a public-house in Great Windmill-street, Haymarket, in the parish of St. James . On the 2nd of November, I went to bed between twelve and one o'clock; I had secured the club-room windows about eight, and was the last person in the room; before I went to bed I went to take the glasses and the club-box out of the club-room - it is on the first floor: the windows were both safe - one looks into Archer-street, and the other into Windmill-street; they were fastened by a bar going across them: there was money in the club-box; I put out the lights, took the club-box into my bed-room, and went to bed in a few minutes - I was disturbed between four and five o'clock in the morning by the Police-officer knocking at my door; I went into the club-room, found the shutter partly broken away at the window in Archer-street- the window was thrown up, and part of the shutter broken away; that window was quite safe when I left the room - it is the middle window, and has four squares of glass on each side of it, one above the other; the window which was open is in the centre of them - it has three squares lengthways; there are twelve squares in the middle window; the squares on each side are fixed: the Police-officer has the part of the shutter which was broken off - that was broken off inside the room; the shutter goes over the whole window, which is five squares in length - it was not broken off at the part of the window which was thrown up, but at the side of the wall; the window had been thrown up first, and a hand put in to force the shutter away from the side, apparently by a chisel - the person must have been partly in the premises, or he could not get to that part of the shutter; his hand must have been partly inside the room to force the shutter off - he could not get at that part of the shutter without having a hand inside; there are leads about a foot and a half wide, on which he could stand, and throw up the window sash, and get his hand inside - there was no fastening to the sash; the bar of the shutter was not down - they had not time to do that, I suppose; the window was thrown up, and the shutter broken away from the side; the shutter had given way by being forced away inside, and that must have broken it where the hasp of the bar goes into: I am satisfied a hand had been inside the room at the side of the window - the window was down when I went to bed, and every thing secure. JOSEPH SEAMAN . I am a Police-man. On the morning of the 3rd of November, between four and five o'clock, I was on duty in Rupert-street, and observed the shadows of three men at the upper part of Rupert-street; I observed them turn down Archer-street - I followed them in a few minutes, and on standing at the corner of Archer-street, I observed at the other end of Archer-street two men under Mr. Delaney's house, and one man on the leads; I made towards them, but the two men, I suppose, gave an alarm to the one on the leads, who instantly jumped down, and the three ran away - I followed them, and bad nearly got to them, when the one jumped down, one turned down Smith's-court, Windmill-street - I rather suspect that to be the prisoner; it was the man who was on the leads, I am positive - a man named Skelton (who was at Marlborough-street) stopped me at the end of the court, and dodged me, to prevent my pursuing; I cannot say he was one of the three men - I do not know what became of the other two men; I should not know the man again who ran down Smith's-court - the court is not a thoroughfare; I was within three yards of the man who ran down there, I should imagine -I remained at the end of Smith's-court, and directed Hobbs, the Police-man, who came up to my assistance, to go down the court, as there was a man down there - Hobbs came up the court again, with the prisoner; that was nearly ten minutes after I had seen a man go down the court - I was at the end of the court at the time the man who came off the leads ran down, and remained there till Hobbs brought the prisoner up - nobody went down there from the time he went down till Hobbs brought the prisoner out: we took him to the watch-house - I searched him there, and found on him a small piece of candle, in his coat pocket, which is here. Prisoner. This man says he was not more than three yards from me - I should think he could tell whether I was the person who jumped off the leads - when I was apprehended he said I was not the person who jumped off the leads, for that person had no shoes on. Witness. I did not say he was not the person who jumped off, nor that he had no shoes on; I only said I was not certain as to the man. Prisoner. He said two or three men ran down this coach-yard, and one person had no shoes on - he went back from the watch-house with two or three Police-men, to search for them. Witness. I did not say so - I said I left three Police-men there while I brought him to the watch-house, and that two or three of the Police had gone down after the prisoner, but no other person; we were sent out by the inspector to search the place where he was concealed, not particularly to search for men, but for implements, or things of that kind; I did not say the man who jumped off the leads had no shoes - it was stated by a tallow-chandler, who was at work, that he supposed the man who ran down the court had no shoes on, by the lightness of his running; the prisoner had shoes on when brought to the watch-house. THOMAS HOBBS . I am a Police-man. On the 3rd of November I was on duty in Brewer-street, between four and five o'clock in the morning, and heard a rattle spring; I went down Windmill-street, and Seaman sent me up Smith's-court - I went and searched all the premises round the court; the doors were all shut and fast - it is no thoroughfare; I saw a dung-heap, and over that was a privy erected - I took my truncheon out of my pocket, put it round the dung-heap, and hallooed out "Come out;" I received no answer - I could see nobody there; I returned to a tallow-chandler who was at work in a court in Smith's-court, which is no thoroughfare, borrowed a lighted candle of him, returned to the dung-heap, and found the prisoner curled up underneath the flooring of the privy, laying on the dung; I said, "You d - d rascal, come out;" he put up his hands and robbed his eyes, just as if he was asleep, and said, "What do you take me for? what have I been doing?" I said, "You have been doing enough;.' I took him from the dung-heap to the watch-house, searched him, and found this chisel in his coat pocket; it was quite a dark night - I could not even see the dung, much more a countenance. Prisoner. I told him I came there to ease myself, and had my breeches down at the time. Witness. He told me so - his breeches were unbuttoned, but not down at all - there is a privy seat for a man to ease himself, without going under on the dung. GEORGE BLACKMAN. I am an inspector of the Police. I saw this chisel found on the prisoner by Hobbs, on the night of the 2nd of November - I afterwards went and examined Delaney's premises; I found two impressions on the folding shutters, which are inside the window - I fitted this chisel in the impression; it exactly corresponded with it - the piece of the shutter was left at Marlborough-street- it is not here: I fitted the chisel into the impression where the two small hinges of the folding-shutters go - I did not fit it on the piece of wood broken off; it was broken off at the hinges - the part broken off was brought to St. James' watch-house: I myself took off the part of the shutter the hinges were on - the part of the shutter which was broken off was at the hinges, and it exactly fitted the rest of the shutter. Q. What was the state of the premises when you went there? A. Part of the shutter had been broken off - I did not fit the chisel to that, but to the part where the hinges go; that part remained fixed to the shutter - the part broken off was taken to the watch-house, and is not here. Q. Did you fit the chisel to any part that remained at Delaney's house? A. No, only the part that was broken off - it was taken to Marlborough-street, and is not here; it is at Marlborough-street now. Prisoner. I should wish the Jury to see it, for it does not correspond with the chisel, for I am sure it was never out of my pocket - I am certain it does not correspond. Witness. I am certain it did correspond. JOSEPH DELANEY . The piece broken off was where the screws go into; it was at the watch-house with the other part, which was taken there - the chisel was not fitted into the part that was broken off, but to the part below that- I was not present when Blackman fitted the chisel; I saw the part of the shutter at Marlborough-street, and at St. James' watch-house; it was a part of the shutter which was broken off - there were two pieces of the shutter at St. James' watch-house, one which I found broken off, and another which I saw the chisel fitted to. Prisoner. I am not satisfied about the shutter - he says it was broken off at the hinges and down the middle; if I broke it at the middle, what should I break it down the middle for? it was not done with that chisel - if I had used the chisel I could have made away with it while he went for the light: if I had done wrong with it I would not have had it about my person. The prisoner then handed in a written Defence, as follows: I declare my innocence in the presence of God. Three days before I was apprehended I came from Watford, of which place I am a native, and served my time as a carpenter - I came to London to endeavour to procure employment, but got only a few days work at times. On the evening preceding the day mentioned in the indictment I went to the Theatre - on my return, I promiscously fell in with two females, and went to different public-houses, till my money was exhausted, and they left me; I was taken ill in my inside, and being intoxicated, went down this yard to ease myself; I was very drowsy, and am unconscious of how long I had been there. Having nothing but a chisel in my possession, I leave it to the Court to say whether I could be guilty of such a charge, and not conceiving I was committing any thing illegal in having such an implement in my possession. [Thursday, Dec.3.] GUILTY - DEATH . Aged 22.