The Proceedings of the Old Bailey

 

1426.   DIXON DAWSON , feloniously forging and uttering a bill of exchange for the payment of 100l., with intent to defraud Sir   John William Lubbock, Bart., and others.—Other COUNTS, with intent to defraud   Sarah Hawes.

MR. BODKIN conducted the Prosecution.

  DANIEL HIGHAM . I am clerk in the employment of Lubbock and Co., bankers. Sir John William Lubbock is a partner in the firm, and there is one other—on Thursday, 18th July, this letter (produced) came to the counting-house by post; I opened it—it contained this check (produced)—we had at that time an account with Miss Sarah Hawes—I think the signature to the check resembles hers—I directed some inquiries to be made about it—we did not pay it.

  JOHN BONCEY . I am barman to Mr. Watts, who keeps the Victory tavern, in Trafalgar-road, Greenwich. I know the prisoner by sight—I did not know him by name—on 17th July, he came to our house, and showed me this check—he asked me to write him a note—I told him I could not, I was so busy—he said it would not take me a minute to write what he wanted—I said I could not—he then said the evening would do, so as to save the morning's post—he then gave me a sheet of note-paper and this check—this is the paper he gave me, and I wrote on it what he directed—I wrote the exact words he told me, and he desired me to sign my name for John Johnson—I did so—I wrote it in the evening, after my work was done—he left the paper and check with me, about half-past two o'clock—he then said if Mr. Rivers was at home he would cash the check for him, without troubling me to write—he did not say who Mr. Rivers was—I knew him as the lieutenant of Greenwich Hospital—he did not return that evening—I acted entirely on what he told me—after writing the note, I enclosed it with the check in this envelope, sealed it, and directed it as it is now directed, according to the prisoner's direction, and put it in the post next morning—he had directed me to do so—next evening, 18th, this letter (produced) was brought to my master's house by the postman—I went to the hospital, and inquired for the

prisoner by the name of Johnson—I could not find him by that name, but I saw him sitting in the ward, and told him a letter had come for him—he said he did not expect it so soon—he came with me—the postman gave him the letter, and he signed his name for it, "J. Johnson"—he was then taken into custody—(check read—"Lubbock, bankers, Mansion-house-street. At sight pay to bearer one hundred pounds, and put it to my account. No. 9, Queen-square, Westminster. July 9, 1850. S. Hawes")—letter read—("Greenwich, July 17th, 1850. Sir,—Please to direct this sum to Mr. J. Johnson, to be left at the Victory tavern, Trafalgar-road, Greenwich. I remain, J. Boncey, for J. Johnson")—directed "Lubbock, banker, Mansion-house-street, London."

  JOHN FORRESTER . I am one of the principal officers at the Mansion-house. On the evening of 18th July, from information I received, I went to the Victory tavern, Trafalgar-road, Greenwich, and took the prisoner into custody—I found this letter in his possession, also this tobacco-box, containing this draft for 8l. on Messrs. Lubbock, with a receipt-stamp pinned to it, this other draft on Lubbock and Co. for 150l., and this order for 60l., and other papers—I told him I had to take him into custody for sending an order up to Lubbock's, the bankers—he said he had sent it, but he had found it in this box among the other papers, and the reason he sent it was, because he thought Mr. Lubbock would give him something for finding it—he gave his name as John Johnson.

Cross-examined by MR. PAYNE. Q. Was it after you got to the Victory that the barman went to fetch the prisoner? A. Yes.

COURT. Q. At the time he told you he found the papers in the tobacco-box, had you found the box on him, or did he produce it? A. I had searched him, and found it on him.

  THOMAS HARDING . I am a clerk in the house of Lubbock and Co.—this 8l. check was presented to me as cashier about two months ago—I do not know by whom—I refused payment, and returned it to the person who brought it—it was rather a young man.

Cross-examined. Q. You pay checks? A. Yes; I should not have paid this 100l. check; at the same time I say it bears a considerable resemblance to Miss Hawes' writing—I never knew Miss Hawes write "Lubbock, bankers"—I never paid her checks on plain paper—she has a check-book— I cannot make out whether the signature is L. or S. Hawes, or whether it is either of those—it may be E.

MR. BODKIN. Q. Is that a check of Miss Hawes that has been paid? (produced.) A. Yes; and paid by me—this is written "Fifty pond, "and 5," put where "50l. "ought to be—I saw that, but paid it—the figures "50," were added by myself—I should not have paid it to a stranger—Hawes and Co. have an account at our house—we have no other individual account in the name of Hawes.

MR. PAYNE. Q. Do Hawes and Co. ever sign checks with a single name? A. They do, but they are placed to the debit of the joint account—the account was opened by Thomas and William Hawes, and we answer the checks of either.

  JOHN KEOGH . I am boatswain of the Prince of Wales Ward, in Greenwich Hospital—the prisoner was a pensioner in my ward for a month and four days—I believe he has been in the hospital since Oct. 1849—his name is Dixon Dawson—I never knew him by any other name—I did not know him before he came to the hospital—I received this letter (marked M) by the post on 20th July.

Cross-examined. Q. Was not the prisoner at first in Nelson's Ward?

A. Yes; he was a mate there—I understand he was removed from there on account of illness, and then placed as a common man in my ward—I got him from the Infirmary—the mates have a great deal to do—I heard of his being placed in confinement—I did not see him there, because he did not belong to my ward at that time.

COURT. Q. As far as he came within your observation, within the last month, did he appear to know what he was about? A. At times I thought he did not seem to be right—at times he would not put his chest to rights, or clean up his cabin, or make his bed up tidy like another man—he was very attentive to his Church on Sundays—he wanted looking after, and attending to—I have eighty-two men—some of them want men to look after them— sometimes they are nervous, and things fall put of their hands from old age and decrepitude.

  JAMES RACE . I am a turnkey, of Giltspur-street Compter—the prisoner was in my custody when he was remanded on this charge—this letter ("L") he wrote in my presence, and this ("M") I gave him the paper for—I believe it to be his writing—I received it from him to take into the Governor's office, to get marked, and I put it into the post—(Letters read—("L) directed to Mr. B. Hawes, M.P., 9, Queen-square, Westminster. Sir,—I am sorry to inform you that I am in trouble, but, Sir, it lies in your power to put me out of it; a man of the name of Johnson found a bill of acceptance for money, signed by you, he knew by some means that I had worked for you; he brought it to me, and it seems that I have done wrong, for it was sent to your banker, but no money has been received for it, but to my surprise I was taken into custody for fraud, Sir, and sent to the Compter; all my fear is that I shall lose Greenwich Hospital after being so many years in the service. Sir, I hope and trust in God you will write to your banker to let me free. I remain, your humble servant, D. DAWSON.—July 16, 1850.—Be pleased to send me a few lines back to ease my mind—direct to John Johnson, Giltspur-street Compter, City—there was no stamps on the bill—Be pleased to send a character—my daughter is broken-hearted—M."—(Letter read—"To the Boatswain of the Prince of Wales Ward, Greenwich.—Sir,—There is a little trouble in my family that caused me not to come home, if you will make all right at Greenwich for me I will settle with you when I come home. Yours, DIXON DAWSON. Write to No. 24, Roupel-street, Lambeth, and let me know what I am to do about it, July 26, 1850."

  JOHN PEACOCK . I am a house-agent, and live in High-street, Shad well. On a Saturday, about 13th July, I happened to be at the Globe and Three Pigeons, in Shadwell, kept by a Mr. Markham—while there the prisoner came in—I did not know him before—he said to Mr. Markham, "Can you cash me a check"—Mr. Markham said, "What is it"—he produced this 150l. check, and handed it to Mr. Markham—he read it, and said, "How is it you did not get this before?"—he said, "Oh! I have plenty of money, I have not wanted it"—Mr. Markham handed me the paper—I read it, and said to the prisoner, "Well, old gentleman, when you get this, you will not stay in the hospital I suppose"—"Oh!" said he, "I have more money than that"—he then said to Mr. Markham, "If you will let one of your servants, go up to the banking-house to get the cash, for I am very tired, I will pay him his expenses for going"—Mr. Markham said, "I have no servant, being Saturday, that I can spare"—he then asked if I would go, and said, "I will pay you your expenses for going, and give you something for your trouble"—Mr. Markham remarked that being Saturday the banking-house closed at three o'clock, and it would be closed before I could get up there—the prisoner then said, "Will you advance me some money on it until Monday, when you can

obtain it, it is all right"—I said, "Oh no, I don't see it"—he said, "it is all right, you can get it on Monday"—I refused—he put it into his pocket and went away.

Cross-examined. Q. You were not before the Magistrate, I believe? A. No; the prisoner has had no opportunity of hearing my evidence before to-day—the prisoner did not say how much money he had got—he did not say he had 40,000l.

  MISS SARAH HAWES . I reside at Lavender-hill, Surrey. I am very often at No. 9, Queen-square, Westminster—my nephew Mr. Benjamin Hawes resides there—I keep an account at the house of Lubbock and Co, and am in the habit of drawing checks upon them—this check is not my handwriting, nor was it written by my authority—the signature resembles mine—I never wrote a check on blank paper; I always have an engraved form.

  CHARLES CUTHBERT . I am a corn-dealer, and live at Kennington-cross. I know the prisoner well—he was a fellow-servant of mine for twelve or thirteen years, with Messrs. Hawes, the soap and candle-manufacturers, in Lambeth—I know his handwriting—I believe this check for 100l. to be his writing, and also these for 150l. and 8l.—he left Messrs. Hawes before me—I think it is three years ago, or perhaps four.

Cross-examined. Q. How long was he in their service? A. I do not know, I found him there—I understood he was an old servant when I went.

The following written statement, put in by the prisoner before the Magistrate, was read:—"My Lord, your humble petitioner is a poor wornout seaman, being many years fighting for his country during the late war, which the Lords of the Admiralty, for my services that I done for my country, sent me down to that noble asylum, Greenwich. My Lord, I was in the battle with Nelson when he lost his life; I am now turned seventy-one years of age; I have been sorely wounded in the head, that I am at times in a deranged state of mind. My Lord, I am innocent of the crime laid to my charge; I have only been six weeks discharged from the strong-room in the Infirmary of Greenwich Hospital, which can be proved by Sir John Liddell, the doctor of Greenwich Hospital; I trust in God, my Lord, you and my prosecutors will show me mercy, and send me down to Greenwich, and they will keep me confined at the hospital; I have an only daughter; I am afraid it will break her heart if I am sent to prison; I hope, my Lord, you will show me mercy for God's sake, as we all expect mercy from God; I can assure you I know not what I have done, or what has been done.—Your humble petitioner, Dixon Dawson. My Lord and Gentlemen, your most humble petitioner states that it is upwards of sixty years ago since I first went to sea; the first engagement I was in was the landing of the British troops in Egypt, in 1801, when Sir Ralph Abercrombie lost his life; the next was in the year 1803, in cutting out of Cape Legat a large armed schooner full of Spanish and French troops, and I received many severe blows on the head, which caused me to be in a deranged state of mind now I have advanced in years, and at times to be very troublesome; I likewise was on board the Victory, in the battle of Trafalgar, with my Lord Nelson, when he fell wounded; I likewise was wounded at the same time, and fell close to him on the quarter-deck of the Victory, on that glorious day, 21st Oct., 1805; and in 1807, I was in Gaeta, in Italy, when the French army stormed the fort I was in, and there I was slightly wounded in four places; and was at the taking of the Island of Capua, the mouth of Naples Bay; from there went to land Generals Moore and Fox on the Calabria shore, and beat the French army

back into Naples; from there I was sent with Sir Samuel Hood, to take Madeira, which we did succeed; and was engaged off Guadaloupe, in the West Indies, with two frigates, French, and seven batteries on our ship for two hours and forty minutes; and likewise burning two frigates belonging to the French, and taking the island of Martinique, in 1809; came home to England, and was sent on board the Fatale Minotaur, seventy-four guns; I was one of the first men on board the eleven Danish gun-boats, that our ships destroyed by fire under the batteries of Copenhagen. In coming to England our ship was lost, and 600 men with her; I had to swim three miles, and was two hours and three-quarters in the sea before I got on Camperdown, made prisoner-of-war of, and sent to France; remained nearly four years in Valenciennes, half-starved, and when the French were in full retreat from Moscow we were marched 600 miles in that dreadful winter in 1814, through frost and snow, and almost naked, and nearly starved. My Lord, I was never in prison in my life for any crime till now; I hope and trust in God that some humane gentleman will come forward and plead my cause, and snatch two human beings from the brink of ruin; the daughter from a broken heart, and the father that will never be able to look up any more through disgrace; if Mr. Hawes is in Court, I call on him to be so kind as to give me a character since 1816 to July, 1850, and I will for ever pray for all. My Lord and gentlemen, I hope you will help me in the means of procuring a gentleman of the law to plead for me; I am afraid, if I am found guilty, of losing my home for life."

Witnesses for the Defence.

  MART DAWSON . I now live at 48, Roupell-street, Lambeth, and get a precarious living by washing and ironing—the prisoner is my father—I have heard him say that he has received wounds in his head—on 23rd February I received a letter from him, an invitation, and went down to Greenwich and met him at the terminus—he said he had been waiting since ten o'clock—he threw his arms round my neck, said "God bless you," and began to cry,—I felt ashamed, and endeavoured to soothe him—I had seen him two or three weeks before—I went with him to the hospital, but could not prevail on him to sit or stand still a minute—he said he had been very bad since he saw me; he had a burning pain in his head, and he had not been to bed for three nights; and that they had kindly accommodated him to sleep on the benches, as he could not sleep in bed; and as it was cold they had been kind enough to light a fire at five o'clock, to make him more comfortable—he said if the pain in his head continued he should go out of his mind—he got very much worse in the evening, and I felt very much alarmed—he said he was so sorry he could not go with me, but he could not hold his head up; he sat on a bench, resting his head on his hand—I do not remember seeing him again before 11th March; my business would not allow me to go down—on 11th March I received this letter from him—(read—"Greenwich Hospital, March 11th, 1850. My Dear and only loving Daughter,—I am happy to inform you that the Lord of Hosts has been pleased to hear the prayers of a poor penitent sinner; the Lord has healed your father, restored his sight and hearing, and has granted me wisdom, knowledge, and an understanding, and loving and forgiving heart to all mankind upon this earth; and I trust that the Lord will continue to grant us his mercy, and pour down his blessings on all in this world, and to dwell with our blessed Lord and Saviour in the world to come. Dear Mary, don't let this alarm you in any shape or form; let the Lord's will be done on this earth, as it is in heaven. Bless the Lord! I believe the Lord Jesus Christ to be the only begotten Son of our God and Maker, in whom I put my whole

trust and confidence for the salvation of your soul and my soul, and the forgiveness of our sins for ever. O my Father in heaven, never let us be confounded in our hopes, for Jesus Christ's blood's sake, that was spilt on Calvary for the redemption of our souls. O my soul, praise the Lord! My dear, I do not stand in need of a schoolmaster, nor a physician, I have applied to the Great One. To Miss Dawson, No. 24, Roupell-street, Cornwall-road, Lambeth, Surrey")—at the time he wrote this, his hearing and sight were not restored—he is deaf now; I have been obliged to get permission to have him close to the rails of the prison, to make him hear—a fortnight or less after writing that letter, he came to my house, and said he was quite in want of refreshments; he had come up for four days, and mast be nursed like a baby, and I must do it—he raved so for different people to be fetched that I thought it best to send for them, and when they came he scarcely spoke to them—I tried to get him home at the end of the four days, but he would not go—he went out for an hour or two, to go to Chelsea, and lost himself, and did not come home till six o'clock at night; next day he was so much worse, his face was so red, that I was afraid he would go raving mad, and got him out—he said he had met with an omnibus-man who would take him down to Greenwich for 3d.—I wanted to see the man, and he got in a passion, and set out to go by the train; then he said he would walk—I got him to a public-house in the Kent-road, and when I told him he must go home, he stamped and raved, and the police came; he went through the public-house out at the other door—I got him a good way down the Kent-road, and he would go no further, and I was obliged to go to Walworth with him to see a person to get him borne, and we went by the train to Greenwich-Hospital; I was from eleven o'clock till four getting him home—shortly after he came to me again, and said he had come for four days more—I was very much surprised, as I knew if he had his senses he would know I was not able to keep him; he came on Wednesday and staid till Thursday afternoon—he made this paper out at my house (produced;) it has the name of Mr. Rivers on it, he is a lieutenant—I thought it was a forgery, and sent it to Mr. Williams at the Discount-office, and told him to take no notice of it; he said he would not—that was about the middle of May—he once sent me two looking-glasses and a pair of plated candlesticks, and said that he should come home with his pockets full of gold, and then how I should smile—"Mary," he said, "you will never believe me, but you will see what I shall give you. I will take a farm; what would you like?—should you like a farm? we can get one for eighty pounds a year, and you shall have a servant to wait on you, and nothing to do but to ring the bell; for you have worked long enough and hard enough"—at that time I am sure we could not produce five shillings between the two of us—when the man brought the glasses I said, "I have my bonnet on now to get him confined at Greenwich; take them away, do not let him see"—I went to Mr. Williams again, and got the loan-paper to take to Greenwich, to show that he was not in his right mind, but was too late to get it—I was told I must send him down by a policeman, for they could not interfere—I did not do so, because I was afraid he would be worse—I came home and found him stretched out in the passage, across the doorway, with his hat doubled up under his head, and he wanted to stay there all night—in the morning I persuaded him to get up at seven o'clock, and get off, and I understood from him that he was called before the council, but he came back the same day; one of the neighbours ran to tell me he was in the streets again—I ran after him, got him home, and kept him that day and part of the next—he kept wandering from one doctor to another, saying, "What

a dreadful state my head is in, all faces coming before my eyes!"—after chapel on Sunday evening I heard he was driving about in a cab—I conld not find him—I went to Tower-street station, and told the police to take him up, and take him to Greenwich—they sent for me, and I found he was started off to Greenwich—I followed and found him in the guard-house; he had been away all Saturday, Sunday, and Monday night (Whit-Monday)—I saw him again on the Sunday after—he said, "What a while you have been coming! have you got the money? if you had only let me stop in town I should have got the money"—he said to Mr. Williams, who was going to London, "Will you send me the money?"—Mr. Williams said, "Yes"—at the time he wrote the paper proposing the repayment in two months, he had not the slightest means of repayment—on the Sunday week, after Whit-Monday, he begged me to give him some money; I gave him twopence—he seemed thoroughly rejoiced, and said, "Now I have got money"—next day he sent me a letter, but I did not take it in; I knew there was nothing of importance in it—I asked him afterwards what he sent the letter for; he said he wanted some money—three weeks after I had him confined I found him standing in my street, in a pouring rain, looking for me; he went wandering about to see if he could get some money—I never knew him signing people's names before he got bad in his head; a stricter honest man never was, he used to take my clothes home—this letter (produced) is his writing; it is from another loan-office (the Waterloo)—I sent to them and told them he was insane, but they took his money, three shillings, and told me they should give me in charge of the police if I insisted on having it back—I never knew him apply for money before he got bad in his head—he was very contented, and when he obtained the situation of mate in Nelson's Ward, he rejoiced because he could help me.

Cross-examined by MR. BODKINS. Q. Your father has always behaved affectionately to you? A. He was a very good father—he has been at Greenwich about twelve months—he was in Christchurch workhouse before that, I used to go and see him there—he spoke of his mates coming from Greenwich to me with him, but I never saw any one—I found that what he said about his resting in the galley, and having a fire lighted for him was quite true—he was in the full office of mate when he was so bad, and when he spoke of wanting money—it was just after the 11th of March when the letter was written that he began to have a desire for money—when he came out of the Infirmary, he was reduced from the office of mate, and sent into the other ward—he had not been addicted to drinking for the last few years—I never saw him in liquor but once in three years, that was when he was first-mate, I saw him not quite sober, and reproached him with it—I can judge between drunkenness and madness—when be was put into the strong-room, I spoke to a medical gentleman connected with the hospital—my father only came to me once after that—he never told me, and I had no reason to expect that he was writing checks on Lubbock's.

  RICHARD SWAN . I am a butcher, of Cross-street, Blackfriars-road. I have known the prisoner twenty years—since he left the workhouse and went to Greenwich I have seen a great change in his manner—three or four months back he came to me and said he had plenty of money coming to him, as he had been kept out of it so long—once he came and wanted a joint of me, and once to borrow a half-crown or 5s.—I was cautioned by his daughter, as he was not right in his mind, not to let him have any—he was sober, but looked very wild about the head and eyes, which were staring almost out of his head, and the same when he wanted the joint—on Saturday nights, when he had a

little drop of beer, he had a little wilder appearance; he had always a peculiar way of acting—if he had had a glass of beer, he would speak his mind pretty freely.

Cross-examined. Q. I suppose, like most seafaring men, he was fond of drink when he could get it? A. I never saw him drunk in my life—since he has been at Greenwich, I have observed more wildness about his eyes than before.

  JAMES WILLIAMS . I am in the Surrey and Metropolitan Loan and Discount-office, Stamford-street. About the middle of May the prisoner came there; he said he wanted a 100l., and bow was he to obtain it—I told him he must give three securities—this is one of our forms (produced)—he took it away, and afterwards brought it back filled up—I think I saw him about four times; other clerks saw him besides—he had not said ten words before I discovered he must be insane, for I have lost a wife insane, and have seen a great deal of it—it is usual to charge 2d. for the form, but I did not ask him for it, not wishing to irritate him—he brought it back, drew his pen through the word "Rivers," and said he would put another; and I found he had put his own name, so that he was to be one of the securities himself—I said I would give it every attention—he came about four times; once he said, "Well, have you attended to that?" I said, "Being so far off, business has prevented me"—he said quickly, "You could not let us have a sovereign on account, could you?"—he asked if a young woman had been there about him—I said, "Why do you ask?"—he said, "My daughter will come about me, but take no notice of her, for she is as mad as a March hare"—he appeared to me to be not in his right mind—the form has never been filled up properly.

  JOHN GEORGE EAGLE . I am a shoemaker, and have known the prisoner fourteen years—I have seen him within the last few months—he applied to me for money to make a deposit to get loans with, and promised to set me up in business when he came into his money; that he would take two houses and turn them into one—I never found that he had the means of doing it; this was about two months ago—he used to come and sit in my place, wishing me to give him money.

Cross-examined. Q. He told you it was necessary to pay something to obtain a loan, that was correct? A. Yes, I gave him 2s.

  CHARLES BIGNELL . I am boatswain of Nelson's Ward. The prisoner was mate in that ward; he absconded on the 17th, and was away eighteen days without leave—he came back on Friday, about half-past nine o'clock—he was taken to the council, and broke from being a mate—I was on duty when he was brought down by the police in a fly, and was taken from the Infirmary to the strong-room for insanity, by order of the assistant-surgeon, who is not here.

Cross-examined. Q. Is the strong-room a place where they put persons who are disorderly and drunk? A. That is one; but this was in the Infirmary—there is one for drunken, and one for insane men—the prisoner was not drunk when he came down from London—I have not seen him tipsy—they do not let men get drunk at the hospital—I have not known them go away and have a frolic for two or three days—they are all helpless in my ward, and cannot run away; I cannot say about any other—I have been there three years.

COURT. Q. If men in the college get drunk, have they not another dress put on them for a punishment? A. Yes; it has yellow sleeves, and a yellow waistcoat—the prisoner never wore it.

—M'Kay. I am master of St. Saviour's Union Workhouse. The

prisoner was there three years, previous to going to the College, and he afterwards came frequently to visit the men, but I saw nothing strange in his conduct till about the beginning of May—he called one evening, between eight and nine o'clock, about the middle of May, and asked if I would be kind enough to allow him to speak to a woman whom he named—I said it was rather late—he said he wanted to see her particularly, as he wished to tell her something about her future husband—he said he was appointed captain in the Royal Navy, and had a great deal of property coming to him—I did not believe that—I sent for the woman—she came, and said, "Do you want me, Dawson?"—he said, "Yes; I am appointed captain in the Royal Navy, and want a wife, and know no one I should wish for more than yourself; so put your things on, and I will make you a lady"—I said, "That will do, Dawson; you had better go home"—my first impression was that he was the worse for liquor; but I saw him several times after in the same state—I do not now think he was drunk, but that he was not right in his mind—I would not allow him to take the woman away—he said, "Tell West to put her clothes on, and come with me; never mind what they say"—on several occcasions after that I received small notes, written on slips of dirty paper—I put them into the fire, thinking them of no consequence—one of them said that West was to come to a certain place directly, if she wished to see her husband alive.

Cross-examined. Q. How long did he stay the first time? A. Not above ten minutes; I got rid of him as soon as I could—it was when he was going away that I thought he was not in liquor—I know his habits, and never saw him the worse for liquor—my impression is that he was not drunk—I refused to let him come in when he came again—the daughter subpoenaed me here to-day—she came to me, and told me if I saw him again to give him in charge of the police; and a few days afterwards I saw him in custody—that was about the middle of May.

  SIR JOHN LIDDELL . I am a physician, and medical-inspector of Greenwich Hospital. Mr. Littleton was the gentleman in attendance when the prisoner was brought down—I did not see him for four days after his arrival—he was then in the strong-room, which would be appointed for a madman, but it is a ward like the others—I questioned him repeatedly—he said his father had left him 500l.—he said nothing about 40,000l.—it would be very difficult for me to give an opinion whether the evidence given to-day indicates insanity upon some one point, because the whole of it might have been produced by intemperance—if he was proved not to be intemperate, then I should have a greater suspicion of insanity—I cannot discover any wounds on his head, but they may have existed previously.

Cross-examined. Q. It was reported to you, on the authority of the daughter, that he was out of his mind? A. No; she did not say so; she said he behaved so wildly that she was afraid of him, and had brought him down to me—I placed him in a part of the building which would give me facilities for watching him; it is a case of daily occurrence in the hospital—I saw no indication of his having suffered from delirium tremens—it would not be apparent, except when the paroxysms were on him—it is the result of protracted intemperance generally, and from accidents—I had not known him before in the hospital—if he had had any attack of any kind he would have been brought to me—I discharged him from the Infirmary.

MR. PAYNE. Q. Are persons insane sometimes on one topic, and quite rational on all others? A. Yes; if a person said he was a captain in the Navy, and wanted to marry a pauper, I should have great suspicion of his sanity;

but he might have some object in view—I am not able to say whether at his time of life delirium tremens might come on in consequence of previous intemperance which had been since abandoned—it generally results from intemperance that has been continued for a few days, but I should not say above a week—when it has once got into insanity it would be liable to break out at times again—a man is always liable to its recurrence.

COURT. Q. Supposing he was deluded with the notion that he was made a captain when he was not, would not that indicate that his mind was not right? A. It would—intemperance is a very common cause of incurable insanity—the receptacles for insane persons are half filled with persons who owe their condition to their intemperance, and more especially as respects naval insanity—I think drinking porter and ale much more likely to cause it than spirits—if a man had led a drunken life up to three years ago, that would not be likely to produce a want of health in the mind now, if his health had been in a state of integrity up to that period.

GUILTY. Aged 71.—Recommended to mercy by the Jury, in consequence of the great length of time he had been in the service, and his extreme age.— Transported for Ten Years