The Proceedings of the Old Bailey

 

99.   JOHN HANNAM was indicted for feloniously stealing, on the 23d of October , fourteen pounds of orris powder, value 1s. 9d. twenty pounds of soap, value 26s. six swansdown puffs, value 2s. one hundred and thirty-two pounds of starch, value 5l. 15s. forty pounds of Windsor soap, value 35s. nine bottles of essence, value 3s. 6d. three hundred paper labels, value 1s. 6d. four pounds of hair-powder, value 3s. 4d. a hair brush, value 2d. ten tin pomatum moulds, value 6d. seven wooden boxes, value 7s. two hundred pounds weight of yellow soap, value 6l. 17s. seventy-five pounds of wash-balls, value 4l. 4s. one hundred and thirty pounds of Windsor soap, value 5l. 10s. six shaving cakes, value 2s. four rolls of pomatum, value 6d. four other wash-balls, value 8d. and an

engine for polishing wash-bulls, value 6d. the property of   Richard Jones .

(The case was opened by Mr. Gurney.)

  RICHARD JONES sworn. - Examined by Mr. Gurney. I am a manufacturer of soap and perfumery ; at  Shoreditch ; the prisoner was my foreman , he had lived with me six months, I discharged him the beginning of November, and in consequence of a suspicion, on the 28th of November, I searched his house, at No. 3, New-inn-yard; Harper was with me; the prisoner asked me for a search-warrant, I told him we had no search-warrant; he said, we should not enter the house without a search-warrant; I left Harper there, and went to the Magistrate's for one; we found a number of the articles mentioned in the indictment, (repeating them,) they were all in his bed-room; when I came back, there was a sheet lying on the bed, with hair-powder, and starch packed up in it, and we found a blanket containing starch and hair-powder, in the cellar; I asked the prisoner how he came by these things; he said, he bought them of one Bishop, a smuggler; I then saw Harper take some keys out of his pocket; Harper asked him where these keys belonged to, and he refused to tell him; the next day I went with Harper to a house in Risdon's-buildings, we opened the door with one of these keys, and one of them opened the door of a room in the house, where I found a one hundred pound weight box empty; then Mr. Harper opened the garret, and found two hundred weight of yellow soa, seventy-five pounds of wash-bulls, almost all unfinished, one hundred weight of oil soap, one hundred and thirty pounds of Windsor soap, three papers of starch, and six wooden boxes, all one hundred weight boxes; I believe them all to be my property, except a few pieces of yellow soap that I cannot swear to; I have lost a great deal more of the same sort of goods from the manufactory than we found.

Cross-examined by Mr. Knowlys. Q. The prisoner said, he had got part of the things from one Bishop? - A. Yes.

Q. Did he not say, Bishop Hill? - A. No, he said, one Bishop.

Q. Had you, at that time, found all these things, or only part of them? - A. Only part of them.

Q. When the prisoner left your service, you had not missed your soap? - A. Yes, I had missed a great number of things; I missed soap daily.

Q. Did you or not, before he left you, miss any yellow soap? - A. I did.

Q. Did you, before he left you, ever accuse him of it to his face? - A. I did, when I turned him away.

Q. I believe you prosecuted one of your servants last sessions, and he was acquitted? - A. Yes.

Q. For stealing other articles of your manufactory? - A. Yes.

Q. Did not Mr. Filton claim a part of this soap? - A. No, he did not.

  SAMUEL HARPER sworn. - Examined by Mr. Gurney. I went with Jones to search the prisoner's house in New-inn-yard, on Friday the 28th of November; I went up two pair of stairs, the prisoner was there, he seemed rather frightened, and Mr. Jones told him we came there to search his lodgings; he said, we should not search the lodgings, without a search-warrant; and I stopped there; while he was gone, the prisoner was very busy in the back-room; I was in the front-room, and he was in the back-room, shut in; I heard him throwing the things about; I called to him, and begged he would not spoil any thing; I looked through the key-hole, and saw him very busy, his body was partly out at the window, and he threw something out; when Mr. Jones came back, I went into the room, and found in his pocket some shaving cakes, and two or three wash-balls, and these keys; the next day, I went to a house, in Risdon's-buildings, one of these keys opened the street-door, and another the two pair of stairs room door, where we found a great quantity of property, which is here; I went into the kitchen of the house, in New-innyard, and in a little place, parted off from the kitchen, I found a blanket, containing a quantity of starch, hair-powder, and other things; we took the prisoner and the goods to the office.

Cross-examined by Mr. Alley. Q. Did not he tell you he had got some things in the garret, which you did not know of? - A. No, he did not.

Q. Did not he send his wife up for them? - A. No.

Q. Do you know if a man of the name of Bishop Hill lived in that house, in Risdon's-buildings? - A. No; when I went there first, there was nobody there.

  JOSEPH RISDON sworn. - Examined by Mr. Gurney. My brother is the proprietor of Risdon's-buildings, I collect his rents; the prisoner at the bar took a house there, in the month of October, it was a new house, not quite finished; when he took it, it had never been inhabited; he spoke to me several times about a window being put in backwards, he had the key about the 12th or 13th of November.

Mr. Gurney. (To Jones.) Q. Look at those shaving cakes? - A. These are my property, they have my stamp upon them.

Q. Did you ever sell any of those articles to the prisoner? - A. No; these wash-balls are finished, but they are of my manufacture; some of these puffs have my private mark, in my wife's handwriting; and these bottles of essence are tied together, by my niece, with one piece of leather, and comes from my shop; this starch has no mark, but it corresponds with the sample that I have got;

here are seventy-five pounds weight of wash-balls, almost all unfinished, they are of my manufacture; almost every manufacturer weighs the soap of a different weight, and they are cut differently; I have cut one of them, and from the inside I am able to swear that they are of my manufactory.

Q. Did you ever sell to the prisoner any unfinished wash-balls? - A. I never in my life sold any unfinished wash-balls; there is one ball among them, that we never sold a dozen of; these tin pomatum moulds I know particularly by the sizes, they are made on purpose for me; the size of every manufacturer differs a little, so that we may know them; this engine for polishing wash-balls, I can swear to, it is tipped round with brass, by particular direction, it was made on purpose for me, they are generally tipped with iron; here is a mark upon one of the boxes, in the hand-writing of one of my servants, it is the tare of it.

Mr. Knowlys. Q. These cakes, you say, are of your manufactory? - A. Yes.

Q. The prisoner works in your manufactory, and therefore knew how to manufacture like you? - A. He never manufactured any of these articles to my knowledge; he was a foreman in making hard soap.

Q. As to this box, might it not have been sent out with goods? - A. No, I have made enquiry.

Q. Being in your manufactory, he must have had the opportunity of seeing how these things were manufactured? - A. By chance, but it was in a different room.

Mr. Gurney. Q. These shaving cakes had your stamp? - A. Yes.

Q. He had nothing to do with the persumery part of your business? - A. No.

The prisoner left his defence to his counsel.

For the Prisoner.

  ELIZABETH SPARKS sworn. - Examined by Mr. Knowlys. I am the landlady of the house where the prisoner lodged.

Q. Do you know in what way he was employed? - A. Yes, I have seen him in his own apartments, making wash-balls and pomatum.

Q. Was he making little or much? - A. It was in a pan.

Cross-examined by Mr. Gurney. Q. Was he making or finishing wash-balls? - A. He was making them, rolling bits of soap in his hand.

Q. How long was this before your house was searched? - A. It might be two or three weeks, for he gave me a little bit of pomatum.

Q. What size was the pan? - A. It might hold two or three quarts; I did not take any particular notice, I was not long in the room.

Q. Had he any other materials besides this pan? - A. I did not take notice.

Q. Do you know where he got the materials from? - A. No.

Q. Were you in the house when Mr. Jones and the officer came? - A. Yes.

Q. Who was it that took the blanket into the cellar? - A. Mrs. Hannam herself; it fell out at the window, I believe, but I did not see it.

Q. This was when the officer was in the house? - A. Yes.

Jury. Did you see him bring in any quantity of these things? - A. No; I keep a school, and my door is always open.

Mr. Gurney. (To Jones.) Q. Did you find, in the prisoner's lodgings, any instrument for finishing or polishing wash-balls, except that instrument of your own? - A. None.

The prisoner called nine witnesses, who gave him a good character. GUILTY , aged 39.

Transported for seven years .

First Middlesex Jury, before Mr. Baron Thompson.