to believe that in the course of the proceedings of their lives they had
been guilty of more than one offence of considerable enormity.
ROBERT SALMON.
CONVICTED OF MANSLAUGHTER, IN ADMINISTERING MORISON's PILLS.
This case arose out of the extremely dangerous practice of administering
quack medicines. Morison's vegetable pills have been for many years an
article from the sale of which immense profits have been derived; but it
is to be regretted that in more than one instance the life of the
patient has been sacrificed, from their undue and improper use.
At the Central Criminal Court Sessions, which commenced on Monday the
4th of April 1836, Mr, Robert Salmon, a medicine-vendor in
Farringdon-street, was indicted for the manslaughter of Mr, John
M'Kenzie, by administering to him certain large and excessive quantities
of pills, composed of gamboge, cream of tartar, and other noxious and
deleterious ingredients.
The deceased, it appeared, was the master of a vessel, and lived in the
neighbourhood of the Commercial-road. He was induced to take some of
Morison's pills as a purgative, upon the representations of a Mrs. Lane,
a woman who was employed by his wife as a sempstress, who sold the
Hygeian medicines; and subsequently Mr. Salmon's aid having been
claimed, on account of his suffering from rheumatism in the knee, he
recommended increased and still-increasing doses, until at length the
deceased became so ill as that his life was placed in jeopardy. Medical
aid was now called in, but it was too late, and death soon put an end to
his sufferings. A _post-mortem_ examination left no doubt that the
medicine prescribed by the prisoner had been the cause of this
termination of the case, and the present indictment was in consequence
preferred.
On the part of the defendant a great many persons were called from all
parts of the kingdom, who stated that they had taken large quantities of
these pills, with the very best results, as a means of cure for almost
every species of malady to which the human frame is subject. One person
stated that he had taken no fewer than twenty thousand of them in two
years, and that he had found infinite relief from swallowing them in
very large doses.
Mr. Justice Patteson left the case to the jury, who had to decide upon
the facts which had been proved; and after about half an hour's
consideration they found a verdict of "Guilty," with a recommendation to
mercy, upon the ground that the defendant was not the compounder, but
the vendor only of the medicines.
On the following Saturday, the 9th of April, the defendant was brought
up to receive judgment. The learned judge having sentenced him to pay a
fine of 200_l._, added, "I think it right to caution you, that in the
event of your being again found guilty of conduct of a similar
description, the character of your offence will be materially altered. I
hope that the punishment which is now inflicted on you will deter others
from rashly administering medicines, with the nature of which they are
unacquainted, in large quantities, as the result may be fatal."
The trade in Morison's pills is, however, still carried on to a very
great extent, and Mr. Salmon continues one of the largest agents for the
sale of the medicine in the metropolis.
HENRY WILLIAMS.
TRANSPORTED FOR BURGLARY.
The case of this prisoner is remarkable only for his singular and daring
escape from Newgate after his conviction. He had been tried at the
Central Criminal Court Sessions, in the month of July 1836, for a
burglary at Islington, and the offence being clearly brought home to
him, he was convicted and sentenced to death, in obedience to the
requisitions of of the then existing law. On Friday the 22nd of July, he
succeeded in effecting his escape from the condemned yard, in which he
was confined.
The prisoner, it appears, had been brought up to the trade of a sweep;
but naturally disinclined to follow a steady and honest course of life,
he quitted the business to which he had been educated, but made his
aptitude for it subservient to a new avocation. He joined with a gang of
fellows of bad character, who pursued a system of plunder to gain a
livelihood, and with them he adopted a means of effecting robberies, as
remarkable as it was novel. Procuring access to the roof of an empty
house, they would fix upon any other house in the row, from which they
might hope to obtain a good booty, and one of them descending the
chimney, he would generally succeed in carrying off such a prize as well
re-paid his daring. The burglary for which Williams was committed,
however, was one of an ordinary character; but while in jail he still
found his powers of climbing of use to him. It appears that he was
confined in the condemned yard, with two other prisoners, and on the
26th of July, the day of his escape, while his companions were reading
in the room appropriated to their use, he managed to work his way to the
roof of the jail by means of his hands, back, and knees, sweep-like, up
the angular corner of the building. The ascent, to a person of his
accomplishment in this particular line, was comparatively easy, by
reason of the roughness of the face of the wall, and he had soon gained
the top of the building, in spite of all the obstacles, in the shape of
chevaux-de-frise, and iron spikes, which presented themselves. To
traverse the roof of the prison and gain the houses in Warwick-lane was
the work of a very few minutes, and availing himself of an open
skylight, he dropped through it. To his astonishment, he found himself
confronted with a woman who was at work in the room into which he had
fallen; but speedily taking advantage of her alarm, he slipped past her,
and had reached the open street before she had time to recover her
scattered senses, or to give any intimation of her fright to the other
occupants of the house.
Williams knew too well the value of his liberty to afford an opportunity
for his re-capture, and he had soon quitted the vicinity of his late
residence.
His want of means of support, or his unfortunate disinclination for an
honest life, however, soon again placed him in the custody of his late
keeper, Mr. Cope, the governor of Newgate. Within a fortnight after his
escape, Mr. Cope received an intimation that he was in Winchester jail,
upon a new charge of burglary, committed since he had gained his liberty
in the extraordinary manner which we have described. He, in
consequence, proceeded to that place to receive his prisoner back into
his custody, and in a few days Williams was once again lodged in his old
quarters.
A humane consideration of his case, subsequently procured for him a
commutation of his punishment to transportation for life.
GEORGE EDWARD PEACOCK.
TRANSPORTED FOR FORGERY.
This unfortunate young man, at the time of his conviction, was only
thirty years of age, and he had, for a considerable period, carried on
business in his profession as an attorney, in Chancery-lane. He was of a
highly respectable family, residing in Yorkshire; and the forgery of
which he was convicted, was that of a power-of-attorney for the transfer
of stock, which formed the subject matter of the settlement of his
brother, the Rev. Mr. Peacock, on his marriage with Miss Selina Willmar.
On Wednesday the 21st of September, 1836, the prisoner was placed upon
his trial at the Central Criminal Court, upon this charge.
The evidence adduced against him consisted of proof of the execution of
the deed of settlement, by which the Rev. W. A. Fountain, Mr. W.
Watkins, and the prisoner, were made trustees for Mrs. Peacock, for an
amount of 7,814_l._, in the three per Cent. Consols; and it was further
shown that on the 7th of December, 1835, the stock was sold out by the
prisoner, through the medium of Mr. Clark, a broker, a power-of-attorney
being produced, signed with the names of Mr. Watkins, the Rev. Mr.
Fountain, and the prisoner. The two former names subsequently proved to
be forgeries; and it was ascertained that there were no such persons in
existence as those who purported to have affixed their signatures as
attesting witnesses to the execution of the power.
The case for the prosecution being closed,
The prisoner proceeded to address the court and jury from a written
paper. He began by declaring that he was fully aware of his offence, and
had never attempted to deny it; and the feeling by which he was
influenced in avowing his guilt thus early was to save his relatives and
friends from the pain which a full exposure of all the circumstances of
the case must have caused them. He could, however, assure the jury, that
necessity, not inclination, had led him to the commission of the act. He
found himself surrounded by pecuniary difficulties, and the ruin with
which he was threatened would not only have destroyed his professional
prospects, but his wife and child, his aged and venerable parents, and
respectable family, would have been involved in his misfortune. To save
them and himself, he was induced to adopt the desperate expedient by
which he was placed in his present situation. He considered, however,
that he was only making a temporary use of the money, and that fact, he
thought, must be apparent to every one, because, had he contemplated a
felony, he might have at once absconded, instead of which he kept his
ground for several days before and after the discovery took place. He
should not trouble his lordship and the jury with a detail of his
complicated troubles; but he was desirous to advert to a few
circumstances connected with his life, in order to show the difficulties
in which he had been placed. The prisoner then went on to state, that he
was admitted an attorney in the year 1830, and commenced business in
London under the most cheering auspices, but he had not been long in
practice when he lost 1500_l._ and was further compelled to pay 600_l._
in consequence of his having become security for a friend. He was then
obliged to accept bills, in the hope of being thus enabled to extricate
himself from his difficulties; but, unfortunately, this course only
added to them, for when the bills became due, being unable to answer
them, he was compelled to borrow large sums of money to meet his
liabilities, and last year he found that he had incurred debts and
suffered losses to the extent of 5000_l._ A great proportion, however,
of the money he had borrowed was expended in the maintenance of his
family and the support of his professional respectability. In order to
redeem his losses, he conceived the plan of appropriating his brother's
property to his temporary use; and such was his misplaced confidence in
his own abilities, that he anticipated he should have been enabled, in a
very short time, to emerge from his difficulties, and replace the money
in the bank. He felt assured that, if he could prove to his brother his
ability to do so, he would be perfectly satisfied, and he had not the
most remote idea that the Bank of England would suffer any loss by the
transaction. All his speculations, however, proved abortive. Loss
succeeded loss, and at the time he was taken into custody, he was almost
without a pound. Fallen, however, as he was from a situation of
respectability to his present degradation, and sunk as he must appear in
his own eyes and those of the jury, he nevertheless threw himself on
their merciful consideration. His brother was now quite aware that it
was his intention to have replaced the stock, and he most solemnly
assured the jury that he had firmly resolved to do so. He begged leave
to thank the Governor and Company of the Bank of England for granting
him time to prepare for his trial, and he begged to repeat that he never
contemplated a fraud on that establishment, and that, in fact, he had no
intention to wrong any party. He did not, however, attempt to justify
his motives, because, whatever might be the intention, it was neither an
excuse nor a defence for an offence committed against the laws of God
and man: that he had deeply suffered for his crime, the days and nights
of remorse and mental agony he had endured might testify, and perhaps it
might yet be his fate to suffer the still greater misery of being cut
off from the world by a sudden and degrading death, to appear before his
offended Maker with all his imperfections on his head, and all his sins
to atone for. [Here the prisoner, who appeared deeply affected, was
unable for some moments to proceed.] He trusted that the jury would
humanely consider the awful situation in which he was placed, and the
consequent disadvantages under which he unfortunately laboured. He
implored them most earnestly to accompany their verdict with a
recommendation of mercy, and that they would weigh and consider well
before they decided on consigning a fellow-creature to a premature
grave. He trusted that they would not forget he had a wife and child.
(Here the unfortunate man dropped his head, and burying his face in his
handkerchief, sobbed bitterly.) He hoped the jury would bear in mind,
also, his two respectable and venerable parents, one of whom, bowed down
by age and affliction, was tottering on the verge of the grave: and it
was much to be feared that the grey hairs of his other parent would be
brought with sorrow to the tomb. Besides these ties, he had a large
circle of friends, to whom his disgraceful end would afford a lasting
pang. Let the jury, then, consider all this. Let them weigh well the
consequences of their decision, and he hoped that they would be
influenced by that humane and merciful feeling which they would wish to
see exercised in their own cases. In conclusion, he prayed that the
great and merciful Father, who read the secrets of all hearts, would
influence their decision in favour of the humble, wretched, and
repentant individual who pleaded for mercy before them.
Several most respectable individuals, including clergymen, barristers,
merchants, and solicitors, came forward and gave the prisoner an
excellent character for strict honesty, honourable and upright dealing
in his profession, and the highest respectability of conduct in every
relation of life.
The Lord Chief Justice summed up the evidence.
The jury having retired for about ten minutes, returned into court and
delivered the following verdict:--"We find the prisoner Guilty; but the
jury are unanimous in their wish to recommend him strongly to mercy, on
account of his previous good character."
On Monday, the 26th of September, the prisoner received sentence of
death; but a subsequent consideration of all the circumstances of the
case procured for him a merciful mitigation of his punishment to
transportation.
JOHN MINTER HART.
TRANSPORTED FOR FORGERY.
The name of this person was long notorious in London, antecedent to the
period of his conviction. He was well known as an advertising
moneylender; and the schemes to which he resorted for the purpose of
preying upon the unwary were as ingenious as they were iniquitous.
The offence of which Minter Hart was convicted was that of forgery. He
was indicted at the Central Criminal Court on Thursday, the 16th of
December, 1836, for feloniously forging and counterfeiting a bill of
exchange for 500_l._, with intent to defraud the Rev. Charles Herbert
Jenner.
It appeared that, in the previous month of July, the Rev. Charles
Herbert Jenner, of Wenvoe, near Cardiff, Glamorganshire, saw an
advertisement in the "Morning Post," offering to lend money, with a
reference to Mr. Blake, 44, Haymarket. Wanting money, he directed a
letter to Mr. Blake, and had an interview with the prisoner, who met him
at Chislehurst, in Kent, where he was residing. He told him he wanted
200_l._, on personal security, for twelve months. The prisoner agreed to
let him have it at five per cent. on his bill. He met him the next day
at the house of his father (Sir Herbert Jenner), in Chesterfield-street,
when the prisoner produced a stamp, at the same time showing what
appeared to him to be a Bank-of-England check. The prisoner asked Mr.
Jenner to write across the stamp, "Accepted--Charles Jenner;" but before
he signed it, he saw the prisoner write something at the left-hand
corner; he did not notice what, but subsequently saw it was figures
denoting 200_l._ The prisoner then took away the stamp, and said he
would return with the money in half an hour. By desire of the prisoner,
he made the bill payable at the Bank of England. On the bill being now
produced, the figures 500_l._ appeared to have been substituted for
those of 200_l._ He did not again see the prisoner, nor get any money,
although he received several letters.--A Mr. John William Edwards proved
that he had received the bill in question from the prisoner, having
agreed to purchase it at 5_s._ in the pound. It was then only a blank
acceptance, but there was a stain at the corner. The prisoner said it
was as he had received it. He said it had been obtained from Mr. Jenner
by a person named Elliott, and that he had offered it for sale to a Mr.
Pook, who would only give 100L. for it. If the bill was paid, he,
Edwards, was to give 50_l._ additional. The bargain was finally settled
at a public-house at the corner of a court in Jermyn-street, and witness
received the blank acceptance, and kept it in his possession for a week,
when it was given to the prisoner to be drawn and endorsed. He returned
it regularly drawn and endorsed with the name of "C. Taylor."
Other witnesses proved a fact which exhibited the boldness and ingenuity
with which the prisoner had effected his object. It appeared, upon a
chemical examination of the paper on which the bill was drawn, that that
part of it on which, according to Mr. Jenner's statement, the figures
"200_l._" had been written, had been subjected to the action of a strong
acid, the effect of which had been to remove all trace of the ink. The
new figures, "500_l._," had then been written in their stead, and the
bill had been put in circulation as a security for that amount.
An objection was taken to the indictment on the ground that the facts
proved did not show that any forgery had been committed, although it was
admitted that there had been a fraud; but the learned judge gave it as
his opinion, that the indictment was sustained, and the prisoner was
found "Guilty."
His case subsequently formed the subject of discussion before the
fifteen judges in the Court of Exchequer Chamber, when the conviction
was declared to be good, and on Tuesday, the 7th of February, 1837, Hart
was sentenced to be transported for life.
The prisoner, as we have already stated, had been long known in London
as a successful cheat. The instance above referred to is not the only
one in which, by his acts, he got himself into a situation of
difficulty.
On the 14th of October, 1833, a coadjutor and agent of his, named Henry
Palmer, was indicted at the Middlesex Sessions, charged with receiving
ten bills of exchange for 500_l._ each, accepted by D. Astley, Esq.,
well knowing them to have been stolen. Mr. Adolphus stated the
circumstances as follows:--
Mr. Dugdale Astley was the prosecutor; he was the eldest son of Sir J.
Astley, M.P. for Wiltshire, and married the daughter of Sir T.
Lethbridge, by whom he would be entitled, at some future day, to a large
fortune; he was also the heir to an extensive property in his own
person. Mr. Astley, the previous July, saw an advertisement in the
"Morning Post," stating that a gentleman retiring from business had a
sum of 20,000_l._ to lend at four-and-a-half per cent. interest to
gentlemen of known property, or on bills of exchange at a short date.
Application to be made to Mr. T. Morton, 35, University-street, St.
Pancras. He (Mr. Adolphus) should have thought that this was almost too
vulgar to attract notice, but it caught the attention of Mr. Astley; and
he being in want of a temporary advance of money, applied for the loan
of 5000_l._, at the same time describing his own and his wife's family
connexions. Mr. Astley, at the time of making this application, was at
his country house, Basing Park, Wiltshire, and shortly afterwards he
received a letter, signed "J. Morton," but by a person whose real name
would turn out to be Minter Hart, stating that he (Morton) would visit
Mr. A. in the country, which he had accordingly done. A great deal of
discussion ensued between them as to the terms on which the money was to
be advanced; it was ultimately arranged that Mr. Astley should give his
acceptance at short dates, which were to be renewed from time to time on
the payment of six per cent interest. Hart, calculating on the success
of the plot, had provided himself with ten six-shilling stamps, which he
requested Mr. Astley to accept for 500_l._ each. This he simply and
foolishly acceded to, and wrote across them--"Accepted; payable at
Messrs. Praed and Co., bankers, 195, Fleet-street." Hart, overjoyed at
his success, put the bills into his pocket, and immediately started,
assuring the prosecutor that the money would be forthcoming in a few
days. When he (Hart) had got home, he found that the prosecutor had not
signed his name to the bills. He accordingly wrote him a letter,
requesting a second interview, as there was an irregularity. This was
granted, and day after day passed away, but no money was forthcoming.
Nothing was heard of Mr. Hart or the bills. At length a letter was
received, stating that the business could not be completed for a short
time. Some days after this a letter was received from the prisoner
(which first introduced him into the transaction), dated
Hertford-street, May Fair, Aug. 16, and was to the following effect:--
"SIR,--I have received in payment your acceptance for 500_l._, and
have also been requested to discount another for the same amount,
which, from the respectability of your family, I am inclined to do.
Perhaps, therefore, you will have the goodness to inform me if the
bills are all regular and right.
"I am, &c.,
"HENRY PALMER.
"D. Astley, Esq."
This letter Mr. Astley fortunately did not answer, but it raised his
suspicions that all was not right; he accordingly made inquiries, and it
was discovered that Hart and the prisoner were old friends--labourers in
the same vineyard. This trick having failed, the prisoner then resorted
to another; he thought that Mr. Astley would naturally wish to conceal
the transaction from his own and his wife's family; he therefore sent
him a copy of a letter which he (Palmer) said he intended to send to his
(Mr. Astley's) father, and Sir Thomas Lethbridge, his father-in-law. The
letter was to the following effect:--
"SIR,--Your son, Mr. Dugdale Astley, has, to my own knowledge,
accepted bills to the amount of 5,000_l._, without receiving one
penny value for them; part of them are in circulation, and the
others shortly will be; but, from the circumstances that have come
to my knowledge, they might be all bought up for a small sum, and
thereby prevent an exposure of the transaction in a court of
justice. If you think this proposal worthy your notice, and will
put an advertisement in 'The Morning Chronicle,' addressed to O. P.
Q., you shall hear from me.
"Yours, &c.
"HENRY PALMER."
This not being noticed immediately, the letters were addressed to Sir J.
Astley and Sir T. Lethbridge. These letters, it would be proved were in
the handwriting of the prisoner. An advertisement was subsequently put
into "The Morning Chronicle," requesting O. P. Q,. to meet the parties
at the office of their solicitors, Messrs. Henson and Co., which he
accordingly did, and had an interview. Mr. Henson asked the prisoner
what he expected to receive by giving up the bills?--Palmer replied,
with the greatest effrontery, "Twenty shillings in the pound; they are
worth every farthing of it." This, of course, was indignantly refused,
and he went away. The following day the solicitor of the prisoner called
upon Mr. Henson, and asked if Mr. Astley would give 10_s._ in the pound
for the bills? This was refused. He then offered to take 5_s._, but this
offer was also refused, and the negotiation dropped.