The Proceedings of the Old Bailey

 

OLD COURT. Thursday, September 5th, 1833.

Before Mr. Justice Patteson.

1214.   JOHN DOYLE and   JOHN MAHONY were indicted, for feloniously assalting   John Adam Bender , on the 24th of August , putting him in fear, and taking from his person, and against his will, 3 half-crowns, 3 shillings and 1 sixpence, his property .

JOHN ADAM BENDER (through an interpreter). I come from High Germany. I was in a public-house in Plough-street, Whitechapel, on a Saturday in August -   Elizabeth Nelling was with me; I left the public-house with her at eleven o'clock at night; and as soon as I got into  Essex-street ,   John Doyle asked me to fight (I had never seen him before) - I would not fight, and when I went to go out of the street, the other man knocked me down - I do not know the man who knocked me down, I only know Doyle - I do not know whether the one who knocked me down was in company with the other - after they knocked me down, they took three half-crowns, three shillings, and a sixpence out of my left hand coat pocket - I cannot say who took it; I had 1s. 6d. in my right hand pocket, they did not take that - Nelling saw it all; I have been in London five months - both the men ran away after taking my money; and a little while afterwards I went after a policeman, and he took Doyle the same night; they struck me in the face and ear when they knocked me down.

Cross-examined by MR. PHILLIPS. Q. Was not there a regular fight between you and one of the men? A. No; I was not abusing the King - I did not d-n the King of England; I did not say that the King was married to a German lady, and that the Germans had a right to do what they liked in England; that was not the way the battle began - I will swear I said nothing about the

King nor the Queen either - I had been with the girl in a public-house, in Plough-court, before the row began - I had not been drinking, only dancing; the room was full of people - there were plenty of people in the street when the fight was going on.

  ELIZABETH NELLING (through an interpreter). I was at the public-house with the prosecutor on a Saturday in August - I do not know the day of the month; I left the public-house with him, and as soon as we came into Essex-street, Mahony asked him to fight - there were four of them together; the prosecutor did not say any thing to them before they asked him to fight - one of them knocked him down; he got up and told me somebody had taken his money; I did not see it taken; I had seen him shortly before with 11s. and 1s. 6d. - as soon as they knocked him down they ran away - I did not see them do any thing; I went down Whitechapel to look for a policeman; I can tell the person of any of the men except the one who knocked him down.

Cross-examined. Q. Do you understand English? A. I speak it a little; Bender understands a few words; he told the English in the German language that he would not fight - I have known him two years; I knew him over in my own country - he was paying for drink at the public-house when I saw the money; there was a good many there who he asked to drink, I had some, and Bender took a little - there was a few words before he was knocked down, but not about the King and Queen - when the prisoner knocked him down he said, "A German b-r, why don't you go over to your own country?" Bender heard that; it was said in English; Bender made no answer to it.

  JOHN WHITE . I am a policeman. I was on duty on this Saturday in Essex-street, Whitechapel; I don't recollect the day of the month - I was not present when this took place; I met one of our policemen with a young man, in consequence of what they said, I went into the Rose and Crown, Essex-street; I saw Doyle there, but the man who went with me did not know him; I came out to go to the place where the prosecutor was knocked down, and Doyle followed us to the place; I received information from a person who was standing by, and I asked Bender if that was one of them, he turned round and said it was; Doyle heard that, and said he knew nothing of it - I took him into custody, searched him, found nothing on him at all - I apprehended Mahony on the Monday following; I found nothing on him but 3d. and a duplicate; I knew both the prisoners very well, I had seen them on the Saturday before the robbery two or three times, they were at the Rose and Crown in Essex-street together, about eleven o'clock that evening, but I can't say whether they were in company.

Doyle's Defence. I know nothing at all about it.

Mahony's Defence. I never saw Doyle on Saturday night at all.

  JAMES BRADFIELD . I am a carpenter. I was in Catherine Wheel-court, Essex-street, at eleven o'clock - my wife was there; there were three of us there - I saw the prosecutor there with two females dressed in the foreign fashion - I saw Mahony there - I did not hear Bender say any thing about King William - I saw Mahony and Bender talking together, but did not understand what they said - I was passing out of the court into Essex-street, and did not notice - I did not know what language they talked - I saw the prosecutor go into Essex-street, Mahony followed and put himself in an attitude of sparring, and while I stood there the other prisoner came up, and knocked the prosecutor down - I am positive it was not Mahony that knocked him down - I heard the other prisoner say, he could knock him down if anybody else could not - I believe that was in reply to something that passed in the court - the prosecutor was not down a second before he ran into Whitechapel.

COURT. Q. You say the prosecutor was not down a moment? A. No, not before he recovered himself and ran into Whitechapel, and I pursued him leaving the prisoner Mahony with his wife - I was near him when he was knocked down - neither of the prisoners were near him when he was down, they were across the street; Mahony was talking to his wife - there was a lamp, but not exactly close to it - I swear nobody touched him when he was down; I was close enough to be certain neither of them were near him after he was down.

  SARAH BRADFIELD . I am wife of James Bradfield. I was in the court - I saw a foreigner there; I should not know him again - it was on the same occasion as my husband speaks - two females were with him dressed as foreigners - I saw the prosecutor in Catherine-wheel-court - Mahony was saying something to him, but what I did not hear, and then they came out into Essex-street- Mahony and the prosecutor were sparring together; I thought they were in fun, and not fighting, but Doyle came up and knocked him down - it was not Mahony who knocked him down - I should not know Doyle again if I saw him - I knew Mahony before; his wife was there at the time - after the prosecutor was knocked down, he ran into Whitechapel; he was not a moment on the ground - I could see him plainly; nobody could have put their hands into his pocket and taken his money; they could not do it without my seeing it.

NOT GUILTY .