vicinity of the spot which was the scene of his unhappy child's death;
and we regret to add that he has not unfrequently been the subject of
charges before the police magistrates of the district, upon allegations
of riot and intoxication.
RICHARD BOWERS.
TRANSPORTED FOR "DUFFING."
This offender was one of the most notorious of the class of thieves of
which he was a member.
The particulars of his trial do not reach us in any very perfect form;
but the following is the report of his examination before the
magistrates at Marylebone police-office, upon the charge, upon which
conviction finally ensued, as it appeared in one of the newspapers of
the time. The circumstances detailed well describe the artifices to
which a person following the practices of "Dick Bowers," as he was
familiarly called, had recourse. Dick was perfectly notorious throughout
London; and we believe that there was scarcely a police-office in the
metropolis at which he had not been in custody. It may be remarked that
he had but one leg, the deficiency being supplied with what he usually
denominated a "timber toe."
"Dick Bowers, who has been several times in custody for duffing, was
charged with having robbed Mr. Philips, of Bryanstone-street. The
complainant said, that on the 6th July, (1827,) he was accosted, in
Duke-street, by a person who said he had a quantity of kid gloves,
shawls, &c., which he could afford to sell cheap. He accompanied the
person to a public-house in Robert-street, Oxford-street, and on
entering the room he was introduced to another person, and they produced
from a bag a pair of gloves as a sample; and it was agreed upon that he
should have two dozen pairs for a sovereign, the price demanded being
ten pence a pair. One of the men wrapped up the pair of gloves, and
produced a small silk shawl and a piece of cloth, and delivered them
into his hands, saying, that he was only an agent, and, therefore,
could not let him have the two dozen pairs at that time, but he might
take the piece of cloth as a security; and on furnishing him with his
address, he (Mr. Philips) might rely on receiving the gloves in a few
days. He, accordingly, gave the man a sovereign and took up the parcel.
Both the men then left the room, and the prisoner entered, who pushed
rudely against him and seized the parcel out of his hands. He told the
prisoner that the parcel was his property, having just paid a sovereign
for it; but the prisoner insisted on retaining it unless he consented to
give him more money. He of course refused to pay anything more, and
attempted to take it away by force, but not succeeding, he quitted the
house."
It subsequently turned out that Bowers was a member of the gang of
"duffers," by whom Mr. Philips had been accosted, and that his violent
effort to procure the return of the property to himself was only a part
of the scheme intended to be put in operation.
At the ensuing Old Bailey sessions, Bowers was convicted of the offence
imputed to him, and on Tuesday, 17th July 1827, he received sentence of
transportation for fourteen years.
EDWARD GIBBON WAKEFIELD, WILLIAM WAKEFIELD, AND FRANCES WAKEFIELD.
CONVICTED OF THE ABDUCTION OF MISS TURNER.
No case of a similar nature ever excited one quarter of the degree of
interest which was produced by the extraordinary abduction of Miss
Turner, a wealthy heiress, and the daughter of Mr. Turner, a gentleman
of the highest respectability living at Shrigley in the county of
Cheshire, by Mr. Edward Gibbon Wakefield. The notoriety of the case
renders it unnecessary for us to do more than to give a general history
of the circumstances attending the abduction, and the final termination
of the proceedings against the defendants, Mr. E. G. Wakefield, and his
brother William, and Mrs. Frances Wakefield.
It would appear that Miss Turner, at the time of this affair, had just
entered her fifteenth year. Her father was a man of large property, and
was high sheriff of Cheshire; and with a view to the proper education of
his daughter, who was a young lady of lively disposition, of quick
perception, and besides of great personal beauty, he placed her at the
school of a Mrs. Daulby, at Liverpool. She had continued there during a
considerable time, when in the month of February 1827, Mr. E. G.
Wakefield and his brother William went to Macclesfield on a visit, where
they learned the situation, the wealth, and the beauty of Miss Turner. A
design was soon formed, by means of which they proposed to secure
possession of the person of Miss Turner, and it was but too successfully
carried out. With this view they quitted Macclesfield on the evening of
the 5th March, with the professed object of proceeding to the metropolis
on their route to Paris; but instead of taking the road to London, at
seven o'clock on the morning of the 6th of the same month they presented
themselves at the Albion Hotel, Manchester, in a Wilmslow post chaise.
Having purchased a carriage in this place, they went on towards
Liverpool; and at eight o'clock on the morning of Tuesday the 7th March,
the newly bought carriage was driven up to the house of Mrs. Daulby,
and a servant alighting from it presented a letter, which was in the
following terms, and which he professed to have brought with him from
Shrigley. It was addressed to Miss Daulby, and was as follows:--
"Shrigley, Monday night, half-past Twelve.
"Madam,--I write to you by the desire of Mrs. Turner, of Shrigley,
who has been seized with a sudden and dangerous attack of
paralysis. Mr. Turner is unfortunately from home, but has been sent
for, and Mrs. Turner wishes to see her daughter immediately. A
steady servant will take this letter and my carriage to you to
fetch Miss Turner; and I beg that no time may be lost in her
departure, as, though I do not think Mrs. Turner in immediate
danger, it is possible she may soon become incapable of recognising
any one. Mrs. Turner particularly wishes that her daughter may not
be informed of the extent of her danger, as, without this
precaution, Miss Turner might be very anxious on the journey; and
this house is so crowded, and in such confusion and alarm, that
Mrs. Turner does not wish any one to accompany her daughter. The
servant is instructed not to let the boys drive too fast, as Miss
T. is rather fearful in a carriage I am, madam, your obedient
servant,
"JOHN AINSWORTH, M. D.
"The best thing to say to Miss T. is, that Mrs. T. wishes to have
her daughter home rather sooner, for the approaching removal to the
new house; and the servant is instructed to give no other reason in
case Miss Turner should ask any questions. Mrs. Turner is very
anxious that her daughter should not be frightened, and trusts to
your judgment, to prevent it; she also desires me to add, that her
sister, or niece, or myself, should they continue unable, will not
fail to write to you by post."
The allusion to the indisposition of the young lady to ride quickly,
gave the letter an air of authenticity, and its contents were
immediately communicated to Miss Turner. On her seeing the servant,
however, she expressed her surprise at his being strange to her, but the
fellow, whose name was Thevenot, and who was in the service of
Wakefield, answered, with great readiness, that in consequence of Mr.
Turner's having taken a new mansion, he had made some alteration in his
establishment, and that he had engaged him as butler, in lieu of the
person who had before filled that situation. He added, that the carriage
would return by way of Manchester, where it would take up Dr. Hull, who,
it was known, had previously attended Mrs. Turner, and that then it
would immediately proceed to Shrigley. The extreme plausibility of the
man's manner and story left no room for suspicion, and the young lady
was in a few minutes handed into the carriage, and was driven off. The
vehicle reached Manchester in due course; but instead of going to Dr.
Hull's residence, it stopped at the door of the Albion Hotel, and there
the young lady was directed to alight. She was shown into a private
room, but she had scarcely been there five minutes when Mr. E. G.
Wakefield presented himself. Miss Turner was at this time completely
unacquainted with him, and she was about to leave the room; but on his
stating to her that he came from her papa, she remained. She proceeded
immediately to make inquiries of him as to the state of her mother's
health; but the necessity of some reason being given why she was not
taken to Shrigley having arisen, Mr. Wakefield told her, that the fact
was that the real cause of her removal from the school was the state of
her father's affairs, and that the only reason why this was not at once
communicated to her was a desire on the part of her parents to keep the
circumstance secret from her schoolmistress and companions. He then
introduced his brother William to her, and telling her that they were
directed immediately to conduct her to Mr. Turner, they ordered
post-horses to be instantly got ready. They then proceeded on the road
to Huddersfield, and Miss Turner, buoyed up with the assurance of seeing
her father at almost every stage, travelled all night until they arrived
at Kendal, where she was assured that her parent would be in waiting for
them. Here, however, a fresh disappointment awaited the unhappy young
lady; and Wakefield, perceiving that she began to exhibit great anxiety,
now found it necessary to become "more explicit" upon the subject of the
state of her father's affairs. He stated to her that the bank of Messrs.
Daintry and Kyle at Macclesfield had failed, and that an uncle of his,
who was a banker at Kendal, had lent her father 60,000_l._ That this had
partially relieved him; but that the Blackburn bank having also failed,
everything was now worse and worse. That her father was completely
ruined, but that he (Wakefield) was his greatest friend; that his uncle
could turn Mr. Turner out of doors, but that Mr. Grimsditch, the legal
adviser of the latter, had hit upon a plan which, if it were followed
out, would make all right. That some settlements were to be drawn up and
made, and some property transferred to her, so that her estate would
belong to her husband, whoever he might be; that Mr. Grimsditch had
proposed that he (Mr. Wakefield) should marry her, but that as he had
never seen her, he had laughed at the proposition; but that his uncle,
the Kendal banker, had insisted upon his seeing her, and that it now
remained for her to determine whether she would accede to this
proposition, or whether her father should be turned out of doors. He
added, that she might come to a determination when she saw her father,
who was then on his way to Scotland pursued by sheriffs' officers.
Imposed upon by these representations, Miss Turner permitted herself to
be carried to Carlisle on the way to Gretna Green; and on their arrival
in that city, the younger Wakefield quitted the party for a short time.
On his return, he said that he had seen Mr. Turner and Mr. Grimsditch at
an inn close by; but that in consequence of their dread of sheriffs'
officers, the former was afraid to show himself: that Mr. Grimsditch, in
his fear, had thrust him from the house, declaring his anxious desire
that the marriage should take place immediately, for that as soon as the
certificate arrived at Carlisle, Mr. Turner would be released. He also
added, that Mr. Turner had desired him to inform his daughter, that he
entreated that she would not hesitate; for that if she did, there would
be an execution at Shrigley, and they would all be ruined.
With such an injunction, Miss Turner, with a degree of filial solicitude
which did her honour, hesitated no longer, but at once proceeded to
Gretna with Mr. Wakefield, where the ceremony of marriage was performed
by the far-famed blacksmith in the customary manner. This done, she
returned with Mr. Wakefield to Carlisle, and there expressed her anxious
solicitude with regard to her father's situation, desiring at once to
see him, in order that she might be assured of his safety. A new
subterfuge was adopted, however, and she was informed that her father,
having now secured his liberty, and intelligence of her marriage having
already reached him, had gone on to Shrigley, whither they were to
follow him. Leeds was the point to which they next proceeded; and on
their arrival there, Wakefield recollected that he had an appointment at
Paris, which he must keep in the ensuing week. He declared it impossible
therefore that they could then go to Shrigley, and he pretended to
despatch his brother to Cheshire, with directions to conduct Mr. Turner
to London, where they would all meet. Wakefield and Miss Turner arrived
at Blake's Hotel, in Prince's-street, Hanover-square, at half-past
eleven o'clock, on the night of Friday the 19th of March; but there a
person who was in waiting having declared that Mr. Turner and Mr. W.
Wakefield had proceeded to France, a chaise was directly ordered, and
they started for Dover, and from thence by the first packet to Calais.
For several days the circumstance of the abduction remained totally
unknown to the friends of the young lady; but the fact of her not having
arrived at Shrigley having been discovered by Mrs. Daulby, some members
of the family were despatched in pursuit of her, and she was traced to
Manchester, and thence to Huddersfield; but there all trace of her and
her companion was lost. The dreadful anxiety entertained by the unhappy
parents of the young lady was soon still further excited by the receipt
of a letter from Mr. Wakefield, dated Carlisle, begging that Mr. and
Mrs. Turner would render themselves quite easy, for that the writer had
married their daughter. In a state of mind bordering on distraction, Mr.
Turner instantly proceeded to London, for the purpose of procuring such
aid as could be afforded by the police of the metropolis. His inquiries
soon taught him that Mr. Wakefield had carried his daughter to the
Continent, and thither he despatched the paternal uncle of the young
lady, accompanied by his solicitor and Ellis, an active and prudent
officer, attached to Bow-street, and armed with a letter from Mr.
Canning to the British Ambassador in France. In the mean time, a letter
was received by Mrs. Turner from Mr. Wakefield, dated Calais, in which
the writer repeated the declaration that he had married Miss Turner, and
taking all the blame of the transaction on himself, as far as
"over-persuasion" went, he added, "Miss Turner is fondly attached to me,
and I do assure you, my dear madam, that it shall be the anxious
endeavour of my life to promote her happiness by every means in my
power."
Upon the landing of Mr. Turner and his companions at Calais, the first
persons whom they saw were the young lady whom they sought, and Mr.
Wakefield, who were walking on the pier. The exclamation of Miss Turner
afforded a convincing proof that she remained with Mr. Wakefield
unwillingly; for crying out "Good God! here's my uncle," she rushed from
her companion, and was soon locked in the embrace of her relation,
declaring how rejoiced she was that he had come to convey her home. Mr.
Wakefield, on finding matters take this turn, declared that the young
lady could not be taken from him by force, and appealed to the civil
authorities of the town, whether any person could be hurried from the
country against her consent? The mayor immediately interfered; but upon
his applying to the young lady to ascertain her feeling upon the
subject, she clung to the protecting arm of her uncle, exclaiming that
"she would freely go with him, to avoid the sight of that man" (Mr.
Wakefield). Mr. Wakefield still urged his right to the possession of the
young lady, as she was his wife; but Miss Turner cried out, "No, no, I
am not his wife: he carried me away by fraud and stratagem; forced me
to accompany him to Gretna Green; and there, in the presence of a third
person, I was compelled to acknowledge him as my husband, and to be
called his wife. By the same forcible means I was compelled to quit
England, and to trust myself to the protection of this person, whom I
never saw until I was taken from Liverpool, and now never wish to see
again." Wakefield finding his plans completely frustrated, on this said
to the uncle, "Then, sir, you may dispose of your niece as you think
proper, but you receive her at my hands as a pure and spotless virgin."
Mr. Wakefield also drew up an acknowledgment, declaring that no
familiarities whatever had passed between him and the young lady, and
having signed it, he put it into the hands of Mr. Turner.
Mr. Turner and his niece then forthwith returned to England; while Mr.
Wakefield proceeded to his hotel, and, having packed up his luggage,
started directly for Paris.
A question now arose as to the proper mode of proceeding in the courts
of law against the offending parties in this extraordinary transaction.
Warrants were, however, issued against the Wakefields, upon one of which
Mr. William Wakefield was apprehended at Dover within a few days after
his brother's flight to Paris. He was instantly conveyed before the
magistrates of Cheshire, where an examination of great length took
place; and after a long argument upon the nature of the offence, he was
committed to Lancaster Castle to await his trial, the magistrates
refusing to take bail for his appearance at the assizes. Under a writ of
_habeas corpus_, Mr. Wakefield was brought before the Court of King's
Bench on the first day of the following Easter Term; and the depositions
in the case being produced on the succeeding day, Mr. Wakefield was
admitted to bail, in a personal recognizance of 2000_l._, and with two
sureties in the amount of 1000_l._ each.
At the following assizes for the county of Lancaster, indictments were
preferred against Mr. E. G. Wakefield and Mr. W. Wakefield, for "having
at Liverpool feloniously carried away one Ellen Turner, spinster, then a
maid and heir-apparent unto her father, William Turner Esq., for the
sake of the lucre of her substance; and for having afterwards unlawfully
and against her will married the said Ellen Turner." An indictment was
also preferred against the same parties, together with Edward Thévenot,
their servant, and Frances Wakefield, their stepmother, who was alleged
to be concerned in the transaction, for a conspiracy; and the grand jury
returned true bills in both cases, in the former, however, reducing the
offence to a misdemeanour only. All the parties, with the exception of
Thévenot who was in France, appeared and pleaded Not Guilty to the
indictments; and Mr. Justice Park, upon an application by the
defendants, refused to postpone the trial. Mr. E. G. Wakefield then
claimed a right to traverse, and after some argument it was allowed him.
Upon the 21st of August, public curiosity was excited to the highest
degree, in consequence of its being anticipated that the trial of Mr.
William Wakefield would then come on. The court was crowded to excess,
and the ladies formed, as usual on such occasions, the principal part of
the audience; but on Mr. Wakefield being called, it was found that he
was not in attendance. Great disappointment was felt by the public in
consequence, and an order was made by the learned judge that the
recognizances of the bail and of the defendant should be estreated. The
interest which the public took in this case from its commencement was
now doomed to be suspended for a considerable time; for it was not until
Friday, March the 23rd, 1827, that the general curiosity which was
entertained with regard to the termination of the case was satisfied.
The three defendants were then put upon their trial at Lancaster, Mr.
Brougham appearing with others for the prosecution, and Mr. Scarlett for
the defence. After a trial which occupied the whole day, and in the
course of which the circumstances which we have already detailed were
proved in evidence, the jury returned a verdict of Guilty against all
three defendants. The most remarkable part of the case was the
examination of David Laing, the blacksmith at Gretna. His evidence
simply amounted to proof, that the Messrs. Wakefield and Miss Turner had
come to Gretna, being apparently agreeable to the match, and that he
joined their hands, and heard their acknowledgment in the usual form.
The young lady, he said, presented him with a twenty-shilling note, and
afterwards "embraced her husband very agreeably." The fellow, in his
examination, declared that he had formerly been a merchant (that is, a
Scotch pedlar), and that he had been forty-five years employed in
joining hands at Gretna Green. He had 30_l._ or 40_l._ for this job. In
appearance the old man had been made to assume an air of respectability.
Some one had dressed him in a black coat, and a velvet waistcoat and
breeches of the same colour; the shape of his hat being that commonly
known as the "clerical cock." He seemed a vulgar fellow, though not
without shrewdness, and that air of familiarity which he might be
supposed to have acquired by the freedom necessarily permitted by
persons of a superior rank in life, to one who was conscious that he had
the power of performing for them clandestinely a most important
ceremony. On his entering the witness-box, he leaned forward towards the
counsel with a ludicrous expression of gravity on his face, accompanying
every answer with a knitting of his wrinkled brow, and a significant
nodding of his head, which gave peculiar force to the quaintness of
phraseology which he assumed, and occasionally convulsed the court with
laughter.
On the following day, Messrs. E. G. and W. Wakefield submitted to a
verdict of Guilty on the second indictment; and upon the two findings
the male defendants were committed to Lancaster Castle, there to remain
until the ensuing term, when they were to be brought up for judgment in
the Court of King's Bench.
On Monday the 14th of May, Messrs. E. G. and W. Wakefield were carried
to the Court of King's Bench at Westminster, to receive judgment, when
affidavits were put in on their behalf, declaring that the latter had
acted entirely under the guidance and direction of his elder brother.
Mr. E. G. Wakefield also swore, that the expenses of his trial to him
had exceeded 3000_l._ The counsel on behalf of the prosecution having
addressed the court in aggravation, pressing for the severest penalty
allowed by the law, Mr. Justice Bayley addressed the prisoners. He dwelt
in impressive terms upon the falsehood and art used by them to entrap
the young lady into the marriage, and the gross delusions resorted to
for the purpose of lulling her suspicions, and inducing her to yield to
the design in carrying her off. Having then referred separately to the
conduct of the defendants, the learned Judge passed sentence, that
Edward Gibbon Wakefield should be imprisoned in Newgate for the space of
three years and that W. Wakefield should be imprisoned in Lancaster
Castle for the like term of three years. Mrs. Frances Wakefield,
against whom a verdict of Guilty had also been returned, was not brought
up for judgment; the generous feelings of Mr. Turner, much injured as
his family had been, preventing him from proceeding with harshness
against a female.
On the next day, a motion was made in the House of Lords by Lord
Redesdale, for leave to bring in a bill to annul the marriage between
Miss Turner and Mr. Wakefield, when, after some discussion, the bill was
granted in the usual way, Mr. Wakefield, upon his petition, was
subsequently brought from Newgate to oppose the second reading of the
bill; but the opposition was fruitless, and it eventually passed both
houses of parliament. Messrs. Wakefield afterwards completed the term of
their imprisonment; at the conclusion of which they were liberated from
the jails in which they were respectively confined.